Comment on Local secondhand site won’t load if you use a VPN
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 3 months agoSounds like a design flaw. If you can’t manually set a location, then the app is broken. I turn off and deny location requests for apps and websites, as most people should, because it’s often a massive privacy risk.
LazaroFilm@lemmy.world 3 months ago
But then that opens the door to anyone creating fake local ads by manually entering a fake location. If you do t want to share your location shared on a location based website maybe you’re in the wrong place. My two cents.
everett@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
This door is already open, as GPS location is easily faked. Android, for example, has an easily-accessed developer setting for manually specifying a device location.
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
I think the OP is the buyer, but regardless, the problem is the same.
Post fake local ads for what purpose? You’d get no sales if someone realizes your listing is actually 500km away instead of local (if that’s where they are looking).
All of the market sites I’ve used allows you to set a location. This can be where you live, where you can meet, or some other place you frequent.
I’m saying that the user should be able to enter the location they are searching in. Hell, I’ll search all of Canada sometimes just because I know my immediate area won’t have certain items. I’ve had no issues shipping as a seller, or getting something shipped as a buyer.
If you geo restrict too much, the app/market would be crap.
Adulated_Aspersion@lemmy.world 3 months ago
A scammer could post an item for sale in any number of locations trying to bait the scammed into a purchase.
But, I agree. We should be able to manually set the location.
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
I’d think that anyone motivated to commit a crime would simply just spoof their location and do that anyway. The decision to not allow everyone else the option to manually select a location just punishes everyone except the scammer, and makes the app considerably less useful.
But I think this has less to do with preventing scams and more to do with data collection. I’d bet money on it! 🤑
djehuti@programming.dev 3 months ago
Geolocation data isn’t authenticated or in any way secured against spoofing, so this isn’t a security hole. And it’s frequently wrong anyway (I am not now, nor have I ever been, in Ashburn, VA), so using it as the sole authority for “where are you?” and not providing a manual option is simply a bug; sloppy UX at best.