PHOTO ESSAY: Invisible infrared surveillance technology and those caught in its digit

[DontTreadOnMe]

We are all aware that we are being surveilled every day.
Traffic cameras, ring doorbells, our devices, cameras on buildings, and in buildings - basically everywhere these days.

When you unlock a phone, step into view of a security camera or drive past a license plate reader at night, beams of infrared light - invisible to the naked eye — shine onto the unique contours of your face, your body, your license plate lettering. Those infrared beams allow cameras to pick out and recognize individual human beings.
Over the past decade, facial recognition technology has gone from science fiction fantasy to worldwide reality
https://apnews.com/photo-essay/chinese-s...1fa42f7798

Associated Press investigations have found that such surveillance systems in China were to a large degree designed and built by American companies, playing a far greater role in enabling human rights abuses than previously known. It has cemented the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, offering it a powerful tool to control and monitor perceived threats to the state like dissidents, ethnic minorities and even its own officials.

And if they are making these spying devices for China.....don't you think they are using them in the USA and elsewhere?


Silicon Valley enabled brutal mass detention and surveillance in China, internal documents show

[ArMaP]

We are all aware that we are being surveilled every day.
Traffic cameras, ring doorbells, our devices, cameras on buildings, and in buildings - basically everywhere these days.

And if they are making these spying devices for China.....don't you think they are using them in the USA and elsewhere?


Silicon Valley enabled brutal mass detention and surveillance in China, internal documents show

Yes, it's highly likely that there are more cameras than people think.

And those infrared lights allow them to "see" in the dark, as they are shining an invisible (to us) light on their targets, so the targets are illuminated.

Although invisible to us, those infrared lights are visible on digital cameras, so pointing a cheap camera (the high end camera have filters to block infrared light, as it slightly changes the colours) will show those invisible lights, that may help finding those cameras.

[rickymouse]

We borrowed the daughters ring camera to watch a mouse that got out of every live trap we set for him.  We called him Hudini.  Well, the ring cam sent everything to some place on the internet.  The Chinese saw me feeding him in a dish in the basement, and putting water in his dish.  The Chinese saw what we saw in the cam, the mouse going into the traps and coming right back out within a minute with all kinds of seeds in it's mouth.  It would then go up to the camera and look right in it...how frustrating.  The other mice all got caught, this was in our basement.

One day Hudini never showed up anymore, I looked all over for him, he became a pet to us.  Well, I heard him in the three gallon can with the special lid...but he wasn't in there trying to jump out.  We let the mice all go far from our house so they can go visit other people, but not hudini.  Now one day I looked in the trash can,that had empty plastic bags on the bottom, he was dead under the bags, he could not jump the two feet up over the edge from on top of the plastic bags, so he died in there.  I went down there to smoke many times a day and he never moved, if I would have heard him I would have let him out in the basement again since the temp was like ten below outside and he would never survive if he did not find some shelter...it was too late.  I would also have bought a cage and put him in there as a pet, but he died.

I bet they would have pieced together videos of that mouse in China if they had that video.

I also think that there would be workers with access to the videos from ring cams that would be watching what is going on.  I am sure some of those workers could hack accounts to watch them.  No cyber software is completely secure.

[rickymouse]

Yes, it's highly likely that there are more cameras than people think.

And those infrared lights allow them to "see" in the dark, as they are shining an invisible (to us) light on their targets, so the targets are illuminated.

Although invisible to us, those infrared lights are visible on digital cameras, so pointing a cheap camera (the high end camera have filters to block infrared light, as it slightly changes the colours) will show those invisible lights, that may help finding those cameras.

I read some science article that showed that any LED TV could be used as a camera and that this technology was mandated for some reason by our government.  It is not a clear picture using the screen, but I guess law enforcement can get access of this technology with a warant if there is a hostage situation happening.  The article explained how it worked, light can also feed back into the led and somehow it can be backwards transmitted through the line if there is technology available in the area.  Now it explained it only worked on smart TV technology, but I just scanned the article, and that is not my expertise so I didn't comprehend the technology other than it was possible and just showed where things were, not clear enough of an image to identify a person, just that it was a person. 

We have a plasma tv, I guess it will not work on that.  Plus it is not a smart TV, we have a Roku adapter.  I am not interested in getting an LED TV after reading that unless ours burns out.  It still works good, but at forty eight inches, it is small now and the makers of the films and shows expect everyone to have huge ones, so they write everything small, and they expect people to read texts on people's phones on the shows...how stupid, they want us to upgrade to a tv that will blind us older people.

[BeyondKnowledge]

First of all the IR Lidar and night vision are two entirly different things.

The IR Lidar activates when you wake up your phone. It checks to see if it is in a case or pocket. It is just a reading, a photo switch. It verifies if you are actually using the phone of accidently activated it. 

The night vision can see in the dark and take videos and photos. I have a couple of digital cameras that have day and night modes. They also have day and night headlights which can be manually switched on or off. This is useful for looking for hidden night vision cameras as in night mode with all headlights off, any night vision with IR lights on glows like a flashlight. This camera system is on tracked radio controlled vehicle with vision to the controller and recording capability. Basically a video land drone. 

Now for the IR Lidar. If you want to check for that, get you some auto darkening welding glasses, around $12 usd last time I bought some. They will respond to the IR laser that activates to check your phone when you wake it up. All smart phones do this. The lenses flicker dark in a pattern that varies for different phones. This is checking if the front of the phone is clear for use. This is how your phone tells it is clipped to your belt, in your pocket, or in your purse. It is just like the pre photo scan all digital cameras do to operate the autofocus and auto exposure before taking a photo. Most never notice there is a IR laser that is flashed before the photo. This is normal for camera operation even with no Internet connection in the camera.

Ignore the LED light that says your camera is on in your PC or other device. The camera can be active without that showing it. The only way to not be videoed is to cover up the camera lenses with tape or other devices.

Smart TVs can have cameras and might be connected to the internet. Don't walk around naked in front of them. Put a blanket over them for nocternal bedroom activities. 

If you worry about the government knowing your TV activity, your smart TV or cable box is just another internet device with all the spy capabilities of any other internet device. I can change the channel on my TV from miles away with the cable companies  android app. They know what channel I am watching. 

Get over it. The IR Lidar stuff is a distraction to get you to worry about something they don't care about.

[BeyondKnowledge]

I read some science article that showed that any LED TV could be used as a camera and that this technology was mandated for some reason by our government.  It is not a clear picture using the screen, but I guess law enforcement can get access of this technology with a warant if there is a hostage situation happening.  The article explained how it worked, light can also feed back into the led and somehow it can be backwards transmitted through the line if there is technology available in the area.  Now it explained it only worked on smart TV technology, but I just scanned the article, and that is not my expertise so I didn't comprehend the technology other than it was possible and just showed where things were, not clear enough of an image to identify a person, just that it was a person. 

We have a plasma tv, I guess it will not work on that.  Plus it is not a smart TV, we have a Roku adapter.  I am not interested in getting an LED TV after reading that unless ours burns out.  It still works good, but at forty eight inches, it is small now and the makers of the films and shows expect everyone to have huge ones, so they write everything small, and they expect people to read texts on people's phones on the shows...how stupid, they want us to upgrade to a tv that will blind us older people.

Why bother with the making the TV a camera when you can add a camera anywhere on the edge of the screen during manufacturing for under a dollar. They are available for under $10 on eBay so in China they are under $1.

Again, that article is a distraction to get you worried about something they don't care about.

[ArMaP]

The IR Lidar activates when you wake up your phone. It checks to see if it is in a case or pocket. It is just a reading, a photo switch. It verifies if you are actually using the phone of accidently activated it.

No sign of any IR light on my Samsung A05.

[SteamyAmerican]

We are all aware that we are being surveilled every day.
Traffic cameras, ring doorbells, our devices, cameras on buildings, and in buildings - basically everywhere these days.

And if they are making these spying devices for China.....don't you think they are using them in the USA and elsewhere?


Silicon Valley enabled brutal mass detention and surveillance in China, internal documents show

100% there are. Not just the US but UK and other European countries are goin all-in on this.

For instance, right now in the US LE to the tune of over 3000 agencies local and higher are utilizing a private third-party company called Flock that reads liscence plates and allows agencies across the US to view them in other cities and states.

It’s so prevalent some citizen groups have raised privacy concern. And yeah as you could imagine the ability for a bad apple to track a baby-mama or anyone else has also become an issue. As there is already instances and precedence this is being done for personal reasons against people that have no idea they are being surveilled. 

Oh and we ar paying for it of course out of pocket. This nebulous and nefarious spying.

ETA: besides infrared, many apps and social media are constantly snapping you face as you read, like, and scroll through posts. I imagine there is a wide net that captures expressions and pupil dilation much like already happens at the grocery store to measure your engagement.

You know for product placement and to help the consumer. /sarc

[BeyondKnowledge]

No sign of any IR light on my Samsung A05.

Did you check that yourself or just trust an Internet search?

There are many features of smartphones that are never mentioned in manuals. Hidden for various reasons.

Do you know all smart phones and tablets are required by law to be able to dial 911 even without a SIM card as long as they have power? You may think removing or just not having a sim card will make you invisible.  But does it?

[ArMaP]

Did you check that yourself or just trust an Internet search?

I did check it myself, as I always do, I don't trust everything I read on the Internet.