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EVERYBODY RUNS: Your Smartphone Location-Aware Data Is Being Used And Sold Without Your Consent

As location-aware advertising goes mainstream—like that Jack in the Box ad that appears whenever you get near one, in whichever app you have open at the time—and as popular apps harvest your lucrative location data, the potential for leaking or exploiting this data has never been higher.

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As location-aware advertising goes mainstream—like that Jack in the Box ad that appears whenever you get near one, in whichever app you have open at the time—and as popular apps harvest your lucrative location data, the potential for leaking or exploiting this data has never been higher.

EDITOR’S NOTE: When the movie Minority Report was released back in 2007, audiences were thrilled to see the technological marvels that would come true for some future generation down the line. Funny thing is, though, just about everything shown in the movie has already come true, including the persistent mobile advertising that follows your every move. The every move of billions of people all being tracked and recorded by a personal device in their pocket…and it’s not even the mark of the beast yet. Imagine that.

It’s true that your smartphone’s location-tracking capabilities can be helpful, whether it’s alerting you to traffic or inclement weather. That utility is why so many of us are giving away a great deal more location data than we probably realize. Every time you say “yes” to an app that asks to know your location, you are also potentially authorizing that app to sell your data.

Dozens of companies track location and/or serve ads based on this data. They aim to compile a complete record of where everyone in America spends their time, in order to chop those histories into market segments to sell to corporate advertisers.

Marketers spent $16 billion on location-targeted ads served to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets in 2017. That’s 40% of all mobile ad spending, research firm BIA/Kelsey estimates, and it expects spending on these ads to double by 2021.

The data required to serve you any single ad may pass through many companies’ systems in milliseconds—from data broker to ad marketplace to an agency’s custom system. In part, this is just how online advertising works, where massive marketplaces hold ongoing high-speed auctions for ad space.

But the fragmentation also is due to a very real fear of the public backlash and legal liability that might occur if there were a breach. Imagine the Equifax breach, except instead of your Social Security number, it’s everywhere you’ve been, including your home, your workplace and your children’s schools.

The fix, at least for now, is that with most individual data vendors holding only parts of your data, your complete, identifiable profile is never all in one place. Giants like Google and Facebook , who do have all your data in one place, say they are diligent about throwing away or not gathering what they don’t need, and eliminating personally identifying information from the remainder.

Yet as the industry and the ways to track us expand, the possibility that our whereabouts will be exposed multiplies.

If you’ve ever felt clever because an app on your phone asked to track your location and you said no, this should make you feel a little less smug: There are plenty of ways to track you without getting your permission. Some of the most intrusive are the easiest to implement.

Your telco knows where you are at all times, because it knows which cell towers your phone is near. In the U.S., how much data service-providers sell is up to them. 

Another way you can be tracked without your knowing it is through any open Wi-Fi hot spot you might pass. If your phone’s Wi-Fi is on, you’re constantly broadcasting a unique MAC address and a history of past Wi-Fi connections. Retailers sometimes use these addresses to identify repeat customers, and they can also use them to track you as you go from one of their stores to another.

WeatherBug, one of the most popular weather apps for Android and iPhone, is owned by the location advertising company GroundTruth. It’s a natural fit: Weather apps need to know where you are and provide value in exchange for that information. But it also means that app is gathering data on your location any time the app is open—and even when it isn’t, if you agreed to always let it track your location. That data is resold to others.

GroundTruth also gathers location data from “over a hundred thousand” other apps that have integrated bits of its code, says company president Serge Matta, who declined to disclose which apps. App makers agree to harvest location data because it grants them access to GroundTruth’s mobile advertising network.

This data is what enables marketers like Jack in the Box to push an advertiser’s message to potential customers near its restaurants. A typical engagement includes pushing location-based promotions or coupons through mobile ads, says Iwona Alter, Chief Marketing Officer of Jack in the Box.

Every month GroundTruth tracks 70 million people in the U.S. as they go to work in the morning, come home at night, surge in and out of public events, take vacations, you name it. source

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Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last days before the rapture of the church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our GoFundMe page

NTEB has been hit with some serious bills related to our operating costs in 2018, the price of everything is going up! So we have prayerfully decided to extend our fundraiser into the springtime, specifically to May 14th, 2018. Without your generous support of this ministry, we would not be able to continue operating.

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the building of the recording studio, but it also goes to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. Even all the way to South Africa. We even restarted our weekly radio Bible study on Sunday nights again, thanks to your generous donations.

Personally, I hate having to hold a fundraiser, I truly do. If I had them money I would give it all personally and never ask anyone for a penny. In fact, I have given everything I have to this ministry. But the Lord knows better than I do, and I  believe with all my heart that He is asking all of you to invest in this ministry as well.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. If every one of the 12,426 people on our daily mailing list gave $2.50, we would reach our goal immediately. If every one of our 151,913 followers on Facebook gave $1.00 each, we would reach 600% of our goal. The same goes for our 13,500 followers on Twitter. But sadly, many will not give, so we need the ones who can and who will give to be generous. As generous as possible.

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJV)

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our GoFundMe page


 

Donald Trump

The Hornets Are Swarming: Iranian Threats Send Bessent Into Military Housing As Reports Say Trump Has Scaled Back Appearances Over Assassination Plot

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America’s Foreign Policy: Stir Up The Iranian Hornet’s Nest, Move Officials Behind Military Gates, And Call The Result ‘Peace Through Strength’

There is something terribly wrong when the people running the United States increasingly need military installations to feel safe in their own capital. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has now personally confirmed that Iranian death threats prompted his move onto a military base under Secret Service instructions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth already live in military housing, and Stephen Miller moved into protected housing after harassment outside his family’s home. These moves together paint a very disturbing picture of American leadership increasingly living behind guarded gates. This is the security climate surrounding the administration that promised to make America safe again. If our leaders don’t feel safe on American soil, if the man in charge of the Pentagon doesn’t feel safe on American soil, what does that tell you about how safe you are?

“He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” Proverbs 26:17 (KJB)

Now the reported threat reaches directly into the president’s public schedule. According to a November 14 Israel Hayom report citing senior Israeli and American officials, Mossad passed the CIA intelligence about Iranian plans to target Trump and senior administration figures, including possible drone attacks. The report says Trump’s public appearances have been reduced in response. The White House and CIA have not publicly confirmed that specific plot, but Bessent’s own account establishes that Iranian threats have already driven an American Cabinet secretary out of his home. The consequences are reaching beyond intelligence briefings and into how these officials live and work. The report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a staunch opponent of reaching an agreement with Iran, had also been moved to secure housing on a military base. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is likewise staying at a secure military facility as part of heightened security arrangements for members of Trump’s national security team.

As Americans, we have been sold a disastrious bill of goods where our leaders brag about American military might while they themselves are now living on military bases out of fear for their own safety. People like Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. All living on military bases while bragging about the lethality of our military. Something is not right with this picture, in fact, something is very, very wrong with it. Donald Trump in 2024 vowed to “make America safe again”, but judging by the new addresses of his most important people, he has failed miserably in keeping that promise. Trump is still bragging about starting Operation Epic Fury 9 months ago, but all he did was take a baseball bat to the hornet’s next while having absolutely no plan at all to deal with the hornets who are now buzzing like the locusts in Revelation 9. Please feel free to fact check this article, and let me know what you find.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Good Child Missions

OPERATION AFRICA! This Year We Will Again Help Feed Thousands Of Ugandan Children At The Annual Good Child Missions Christmas Dinner And Cup Of Porridge

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We are excited for the 5th Annual Good Child Missions Chrismas Dinner and the start of the 2027 Cup Of Porridge Program

For many years now, NTEB has partnered with Pastor Irad in Uganda in both the Cup Of Porridge Progam and the Annual Christmas Dinner that this year falls on December 19th. During these many years, the number of children we have been helping has risen into the thousands. At the heart of both these programs is the urgent need to give them the lifesaving gospel of Jesus Christ, and many of them believe and get saved. This year, Lord willing, we’re going to do it again.

“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Luke 18:16 (KJB)

As most of you know, the Cup of Porridge Program starts at the beginning of the year, and it provides a steaming, hot cup of healthy porridge for about 2,000 children on Sunday morning before church begins. The idea being that children will be much more receptive to hearing the gospel with a full stomach than an empty one. The Christmas Dinner, on the other hand, is a one-day event that brings in close to 5,000 children for a time of fun, games, some excellent food, and the preaching of the gospel.

The Cup of Porridge Program will start with the New Year, the Christnas Dinner is a little under 5 weeks away, and we very much need your help. The cost for both these things this year will be right around $6,500. Christian, here in America even in this challenging economy, we are blessed beyond measure, and it is a blessing for us to help meet this need just as much as it is for them to recieve it. Please pray about this outreach, and if God has prospered you, click on the donate button and come help us to bless these precious souls. We need you!!

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Conspiracy Theory

Microsoft Goes Down, Flights Stop And Military Sirens Sound: Are We Watching ‘Leave The World Behind’ Unfold As Strange Events Converge Around The World?

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‘Leave The World Behind’ Suddenly Looks Uncomfortably Familiar As Communications Fail, American Flights Are Grounded And Suspected Drones Trigger A Military Base Alert

Consider the possibility that at least some of the disruptions appearing together in our headlines were deliberately timed to create uncertainty, expose weaknesses and condition the public for what comes next. A Microsoft outage disrupts essential communications around the world. An FAA communications failure halts all American departures. Suspected drones trigger a shelter alert at a major military base in Britain. Storms threaten electricity supplies across multiple US states. Nvidia reels under financial and leadership pressure. A cruise ship is scuttled by an oil tanker. Germany’s parliament approves expanded security powers. Taken individually, each has its own seeming explanation. But taken together, all at the same time, and a very dystopian explanation begins to form in one’s mind.

“Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” Luke 21:26 (KJB)

That is where Leave the World Behind, executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, coming stunningly into our purview. The film imagines people losing access to the systems that make their world understandable. Communications fail, information becomes unreliable, and uncertainty begins eating away at trust.disrupt the connections people depend on, and fear can do some very serious damage. Then it really gets bad when the people realize it’s their own government doing it to them! Farfetched, you say? It’s already begun.

If a hostile government, an intelligence operation or another organized actor wanted to destabilize a country, simultaneous disruptions would offer a powerful advantage. Each incident would consume attention and resources. Officials would struggle to distinguish accidents from attacks. The public would receive fragmented explanations while trying to get home, contact relatives or obtain essential services. An operation could also exploit an approaching storm, allowing naturally occurring disruption to multiply the effects of something deliberately engineered. People do not need to understand who is responsible to feel increasingly powerless. They only need to discover that the next system they reach for is unavailable too.

Microsoft’s stated explanation to their current global failure of their Outlook email system is a technical failure following a network change, and the company says the outage was not a cyberattack. The FAA’s communications failure remains a separate investigation. A serious investigation of deliberate coordination would therefore have to test those explanations: examine the changes, access records, dependencies and precise sequence of failures.

Germany introduces another dimension, what governments can do with, and to, a frightened public. Its parliamentary votes expand surveillance and operational capabilities in response to security threats. From the conspiracy angle, the question becomes whether an actor could manufacture or exploit instability to make previously unacceptable powers seem necessary. A population desperate for restored order may accept monitoring, restrictions and centralized authority that it would have challenged in calmer circumstances. A campaign could target both infrastructure and public confidence, while others exploit the resulting fear. Nvidia’s turmoil and weather emergencies could supply additional pressure without needing to share the same origin.

Putting all these events we’ve mentioned here, just a handful of things all occuring at the same time right now, puts us in a very interesting end times place. If you’ve never seen ‘Leave The World Behind’, go watch it because you’re living it.

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: The 3 Stages Of Civil War

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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