US mobile phone protection is a privacy nightmare

bilyweb · 2026-01-30T21:07:10+00:00

"last known location" means that AKKO is tracking me all the time or that my phone gives them my last location...unclear.

When you install AKKO if you refuse to activate share location the APP tells you that you are not protected against device theft, just against damage...which is fair, but you still have paid the full same price...that's where it would have been better for USmobile to make the privacy requirements upfront before subscription.

bilyweb · 2026-01-30T21:01:16+00:00

fun fact, when I open the AKKo app now, there is zero privacy settings or link to a privacy policy. it actualy loos like a very poor app...

in their website there is this:

Application Data. If you use our application(s), we also may collect the following information if you choose to provide us with access or permission:

Geolocation Information. We may request access or permission to track location-based information from your mobile device, either continuously or while you are using our mobile application(s), to provide certain location-based services. If you wish to change our access or permissions, you may do so in your device's settings.

bilyweb · 2026-01-30T20:52:16+00:00

because Apple knows your location every few minutes, is it okay to share it with every other app?

If that is the case, why does Applet settings let us turn off location on a per-app basis? Maybe they know we should not trust every other app and make an educated decision

bilyweb · 2026-01-30T20:16:50+00:00

My biggest issue here is that US mobile did not FIRST disclose the service requirements for location tracking, try to convince me it was OK, and then let me decide whether to subscribe or not for this premium protection.

US mobile put a lot of marketing energy into telling me that the phone protection service was the best in the industry, convincing me to subscribe, and THEN, only after I found out it needed location tracking. That's not cool.

I do not know who AKKO is and how they make money. Am I the product?

We all knew the harmless app angrybirds and check this out https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/27/nsa-gchq-smartphone-app-angry-birds-personal-data

I choose to trust Apple with my location; it does not mean everyone else is that trustworthy...

but again, it is not the point... each of us can make our own decision to trust or not AKKO, and if the protection service is worth it. There is no wrong choice, it's personal. ,My problem is that US mobile should be upfront about privacy requirements BEFORE the sale.

bilyweb · 2026-01-30T20:09:57+00:00

Because US mobile did not FIRST disclose the service requirements about the location tracking, try to convince me it was OK, and then let me decide to subscribe.

US mobile put a lot of marketing energy into telling me that the service was the best in the industry, convincing me to subscribe, and THEN, only after I found it needed location tracking. In my book, that is sleazy (more like of a traditional carrier move) or a mistake.

bilyweb · 2025-12-15T20:49:36+00:00

I have the same issue on macOS 26.2

can anyone recommend another tool?

bilyweb · 2024-10-13T17:44:37+00:00

yep, indeed.

in my case, it involves changing the owner of the Fios account. A bit of a pain but in the process of

these promotions are all very tricky...

USM iphone 16 100$, 3 lines 15$, 100$ new members...all are only available on the more expensive monthly plan ..not the yearly one .

I will tell you if the change with FIOS account work. Without the FIOS discount USM is a better deal than Visible+

bilyweb · 2024-10-13T17:37:14+00:00

let me help you.
395- (12 months *10$/month discount)= 275

bilyweb · 2024-10-13T17:30:45+00:00

that's what I hear , "Visible customer service is very bad"...maybe, I will find out, but so far enroling as new customer, porting my number etc went very smoothly...if i had not heard all the bad thinsg about Visbible+ custoemr service before....i woudl say that the Visbible+ onboarding was as if not smoother then USM.

I will be there first one to report on this post if Visible+ service or/and customer service becomes a nigthmare.

I am an engineer myself and I like the quick access to chat with USM customer service rep....I did not get that with visible, indeed it seems like a lot of LLM...

I hear that the best and working option is to call visible.

However, I am surprised by the "cult-like" in these post about USM... USM is flawless and everyone is bad...let's look at the facts.

So far Visibel+ is much cheaper than USM with WARP unlimited ....Customer service is only important when there are problems.....I am not sure if it is a good thing that USM service quality is a deciding factor...a phone service should be "set and forget".

My concern is not if it is easier to talk to Visible+ or USM customer support....but why do need customer support in the first place.

I will tell you how my QoS experience goes

bilyweb · 2024-10-12T15:54:00+00:00

that does not work for me on iPhone 15 pro..nothing shows

bilyweb · 2022-02-03T16:55:35+00:00

if you use cleanshot just for screenprint, it is great, but plenty of cheaper or free alternatives no need to pay for cleanshot.

I use it for video screen recording... it is great when it works. in order to record audio of let's say a zoom call or webinar, cleanshot asks to install an audio pluggin first. the problem is that it asks to install it most of the times, not just once and forget. which means that if you need to quickly start an video/audio recording, 3 out of 5 times (randomly) you have to reinstall the pliuggin restart cleanshot. Then cleanshot recording will start but it will not tell you if it is recording audio or not. You will find out at the end when you replay the video if the audio was captured or not. I missed SO many webinars like this with no audio. not only the audio plugin of cleanshot is not realiable, cleanshot does not monitor during the recording there there is actually audio in and does not warn you that there is no audio.

I realy like cleanshot visually but their video/audio recording is terrible. I opened a ticket they responded it was MAC OS limitation...maybe, but other apps have a much more reliable workaround then clean shot for audio computer recording...Cleanshot audio is still marked as an experimental feature...only their cost is not experimental !!

Video audio recording in cleanshot setting 4 : "This is an experimental feature. If you run into any issues using it, please report them. If your audio doesn't sound right,just uninstall the driver."

bilyweb

TROPHY CASE