this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2023
12 points (77.3% liked)

Privacy

31181 readers
484 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Related communities

Chat rooms

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
 

My mom got me the spot gen 4 for Christmas. Im out in the middle of nowhere a lot of the time and am interested in having it for emergencies or communicating when I have no signal however I am not a fan of being tracked on the go. Is there anything to be concerned of with these type of products? Id say yes but I cant find anything online.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I haven't used a SPOT for ten years, but at that time they were pretty limited in their comms. They weren't on if I didn't want them to be on, and even when in and supposedly with service, were flaky. Now, I use an InReach. It has more functionality than the devices in the past, but the connection isn't really any better. All of these devices were owned and managed under government contracts but I don't think they would be any different. I have never used them to track myself as I go, I use different equipment for that.

Long story short, you'll worry more about getting service when you need than you will about being tracked when you don't want to be. A tree canopy or tall canyon can prevent comms.

Stay safe!