Hidden GPS logging when set to off

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JeeYem

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I got A119 with GPS couple days ago and it looks pretty neat. After playing with Dashcam viewer software and A119 with GPS turned on out of curiosity, I turned off the GPS. While GPS data (speed or coordinates) do not appear embedded in the video, GPS data (both coordinates and speed) are still available when viewed with Dashcam viewer. Is such hidden GPS logging always a thing when A119 is powered through its GPS module? Is this the case for other dashcams with GPS as well?
 
yes it's a thing, not all cameras can do this, off generally means you get nothing on most models
 
Guess I will have to power the device directly instead of powering it through GPS mount. It's just weird to have that kind of data easily available, even when you explicitly opt out of logging. Of course, you can trace the steps by watching several frames of few videos, but having it readily available as easily parsable data is not that good IMO. Especially when saying 'GPS set to off' in the menu. It's highly misleading to a average Joe.
 
JeeYem said:
Guess I will have to power the device directly instead of powering it through GPS mount. It's just weird to have that kind of data easily available, even when you explicitly opt out of logging. Of course, you can trace the steps by watching several frames of few videos, but having it readily available as easily parsable data is not that good IMO. Especially when saying 'GPS set to off' in the menu. It's highly misleading to a average Joe.
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GPS will still function when power through the camera port. Best to tape over the contact pin that on the GPS mount transmits the data.
 
CaptureYourAction said:
GPS will still function when power through the camera port. Best to tape over the contact pin that on the GPS mount transmits the data.
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That's weird. I thought its manual said GPS mount needs to be directly connected when used with dashcam. I assumed that meant GPS module wouldn't be powered. How do I go about taping the contact pin? Any tape would do? I would use the GPS feature time to time, so I hate to ruin it for future use.
 
JeeYem said:
That's weird. I thought its manual said GPS mount needs to be directly connected when used with dashcam. I assumed that meant GPS module wouldn't be powered. How do I go about taping the contact pin? Any tape would do? I would use the GPS feature time to time, so I hate to ruin it for future use.
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Maybe electrical tape, though the adhesive might "gum up" from heat and make a mess. Not sure which pin/pins either.
 
Yes. Horrible decision on the manufacture part. If you submit your recorded video as evidence in an accident the police can look at the speed and ticket you, or side with the other party if they see you were even 1 MPH over the speed limit in that area. The only way to stop this is to remove the GPS module.
 
Pimpy1 said:
Yes. Horrible decision on the manufacture part. If you submit your recorded video as evidence in an accident the police can look at the speed and ticket you, or side with the other party if they see you were even 1 MPH over the speed limit in that area. The only way to stop this is to remove the GPS module.
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data or not the speed can be calculated, either way are they going to go to the effort to work that out when you don't have any speed displayed in the video?
 
Yes. My uncle had to submit his dash cam as evidence in a car wreck last year. The other lawyer requested the footage. They pulled the hidden GPS stats off the file and used it against him. He was going 3 mph over the speed limit when a car quickly pulled out in front of him from a side road. They claimed if he was going slower he would have not hit the car even though it was the other guys fault. They changed the outcome to a no-fault and that hidden GPS info got the other guy off the hook. That is what made me bring this up in the first place.

I'm just saying people should be aware of what could be hidden in those files.
 
jokiin said:
data or not the speed can be calculated, either way are they going to go to the effort to work that out when you don't have any speed displayed in the video?
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I agree with "data or not the speed can be calculated either way", but not the part about effort. One could argue how much effort (meaning money, time, expertise, willingness, etc.) one is willing to take? To me, problem here is the ease of availability of GPS data; in such case, all one needs to know is about the software to use, and then within minutes, you have that information ready to go for hours of footage. Compare that to non-availability of GPS coordinates and calculating the same info for even 15 minutes of video (assuming miles/hr changes considerably throughout the video). Unless the scenario demands the determination of speed, arguably it is highly probable that such detail is overlooked and no effort is made. Also, your average dashcam customer (not the pros or those who lurks these forums) is going to assume such data is not logged when it is explicitly turned off in the device.
 
I find it highly disturbing that the GPS data is still available after being turned off.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Shame on you @viofo
 
Pimpy1 said:
Yes. My uncle had to submit his dash cam as evidence in a car wreck last year. The other lawyer requested the footage. They pulled the hidden GPS stats off the file and used it against him. He was going 3 mph over the speed limit when a car quickly pulled out in front of him from a side road. They claimed if he was going slower he would have not hit the car even though it was the other guys fault. They changed the outcome to a no-fault and that hidden GPS info got the other guy off the hook. That is what made me bring this up in the first place.

I'm just saying people should be aware of what could be hidden in those files.
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that's a lawyers job to try and find a loophole to get their guilty client off, sure they will go to the trouble when someone is paying for their services, the irony is if you try and fight a speeding ticket and show video with GPS that shows you were doing 3mph less the court considers the evidence inadmissible as it's not a calibrated measuring device and a police radar is
 
I'm considering downright removing my GPS modules since they are defective and causing screen flickering anyway. I do not like being secretly recorded by my own device
 
the on/off setting just disables GPS from syncing, if you don't want any GPS data you're better off not using GPS
 
jokiin said:
the on/off setting just disables GPS from syncing, if you don't want any GPS data you're better off not using GPS
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Obviously it still syncs and embeds data if he's able to pull his speed/location using dashcamviewer after turning the gps setting to "OFF"
 
ElectricalFluke said:
Obviously it still syncs and embeds data if he's able to pull his speed/location using dashcamviewer
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it still logs data, it just doesn't sync so your clock won't get updated periodically, there are some time offsets which are not catered for, in those regions the setting would need to be left off
 
jokiin said:
it still logs data, it just doesn't sync so your clock won't get updated periodically, there are some time offsets which are not catered for, in those regions the setting would need to be left off
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I would rather it sync and update my clock instead of secretly embedding GPS data into my files.

I'm pretty upset at this. It never states this in the manual. It's very deceiving. "Off" is suppose to mean OFF.

A lot of us disable the GPS because we don't want our speed and/or location stored, as it can be used against you.

I should have saved $20 and bought the non-gps version....the gps modules I received were defective and caused rebooting and flickering anyways
 
jokiin said:
why buy the GPS in the first place if this is the intention, doesn't make sense
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I personally bought the GPS because of the advertised "top facing usb port" which is more discrete than side facing. However, that didn't work out as planned because of the defective design of the camera/module causing reboots and flickering

Like I said, it was a mistake buying the GPS. (at least in my case)
 
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