why does f.lux always have to show your location?
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i started using f.lux some time ago and i cant help but notice the security concern if you're a streamer or streaming your whole screen on discord for example, if you accidentally open flux by missing the x on a f.lux notification then it will just reveal your approximate location in the bottom right without warning or having to click any extra menus. i dont know of any options or menus that allows disabling this or anything of that measure.
picture for reference:
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It is a good question.
There are two aspects:
- Because the values are rounded, this determines location within about 5-10 miles, so in terms of absolute privacy it is not an issue for most people, but if you want to keep your metro a secret, it certainly reveals that.
- If you have been traveling or have not set it up yet, it could help you notice to change your location - this is why it is there. But I agree that not everyone will know what this number means exactly.
I guess it is hard to convey enough to someone that they might see when they want to change it while handling the case where you don't want your fans to know where you're traveling. We will think about making an option to hide it...
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- i mean i know that its not 100% correct and doesnt show your house or maybe even your neighborhood but it still shows your approximate area, which could still be a clue for someone who really hates you
- does f.lux have any way to kind of locate where the user is, so if f.lux notices a drastic location change f.lux can then notify them to change it? otherwise then it kinda makes sense
but an option to disable it from showing immediately would be great 👍
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@justsomebody for #2 yes we notice when timezones change and adjust things then, but this doesn't account for north-south travel.
We have done some tests with looking for changes to WiFi networks and the like, but it is a pretty noisy signal and so it requires us to chat with a server and becomes a privacy issue, so we have not shipped it, because we don't want to track anyone's location in detail.
