App uses gig workers to unwittingly work for US military to “gauge the effectiveness of US information operations; scout & map out key social structures such as mosques, banks, internet cafes; & covertly monitor cell-tower and Wi-Fi signals.” https://t.co/MV0cOw6ibt

— Peter Cronau (@PeterCronau) June 25, 2021

Premise is one of a growing number of companies that straddle the divide between consumer services & govt surveillance & rely on proliferation of mobile phones to turn billions of devices into sensors that gather open-source info useful to govt security services around the world. https://t.co/kXP0yVfTHn

— ✨Jackie✨ (@hackingbutlegal) June 24, 2021

Anti-vaxxers: “what if there’s a microchip in that?”
Daily life with a smartphone: https://t.co/3Gi0SKtgAt

— Kodi (@useyourtanuki) June 24, 2021

TaskRabbit, but for military reconnaissance.

Great reporting by @ByronTau on the world of app-enabled surveillance.https://t.co/FGz16ZaBCU

— Raphael Satter (@razhael) June 24, 2021

SF-based @premisedata employs a “network of gig workers” who unwittingly “provide intelligence to the U.S. military via a consumer app on their smartphones"

In addition to ‘tasks’, such as taking photos, app collects geolocation and wifi/mobile signalshttps://t.co/FJOUROIwTc pic.twitter.com/D5JsFMnmN9

— ashkan soltani (@ashk4n) June 24, 2021

A network of gig workers world-wide is unwittingly providing intelligence to the U.S. military via their smartphones by snapping photos and collecting data https://t.co/Kq3SYmOnIb

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 24, 2021

This is going to get some people killed. https://t.co/FzXv1uUy6e pic.twitter.com/jjtpuJgOS3

— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) June 24, 2021

this gig-spying app was originally marketed as a way for gvts to gather data 'for international development'. it underlines how the tech underlying 'data for development', 'data for good' etc is commercial, proprietary and responsive to the market: it will follow the money. https://t.co/9r2wULmQoF

— linnet taylor (@linnetelwin) June 24, 2021

Ominous: A consumer app exploited by DoD for intelligence-gathering and surveillance in the developing world. Deeply disturbing exclusive from @ByronTau @WSJ https://t.co/6nXMAD8H0D

— SpyTalk: Intelligence for Thinking People (@talk_spy) June 24, 2021

Now everyone can be Big Brother for a moment as we slide further into dystopia.

App Taps Unwitting Users Abroad to Gather Open-Source Intelligencehttps://t.co/lTJjZkd4Cs

— Gregg Housh (@GreggHoush) June 24, 2021

Great @ByronTau story: The consumer app Premise has assembled a workforce of hundreds of thousands of smartphone users world-wide, some of whom are unwittingly tasked with doing basic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the U.S. military https://t.co/splu2PGsqL

— Ben Pershing (@benpershing) June 24, 2021

The exploiting poverty - surveillance axis is the worst spot in Silicon Valley ↘️ https://t.co/p2Dljf8RPq

— Marietje Schaake (@MarietjeSchaake) June 24, 2021

“The Premise app pays users, many in the developing world, to do tasks like taking photos and completing surveys for clients including the U.S. military” https://t.co/pge8kL5Vh7

— Carl Franzen (@carlfranzen) June 24, 2021

Reconnaissance and surveillance for hire has finally merged with the app-enabled gig economy and the resulting monstrosity is as dystopian as you'd expect: https://t.co/7ra54YyqAj

— Eva (@evacide) June 24, 2021

Always expected this idea to emerge. I wanted to call it "Dude Diligence" https://t.co/wsjZapMbeU

— Robert Stephens (@rstephens) June 24, 2021

NEW from me: Meet Premise — a TaskRabbit-like app with hundreds of thousands of users in the developing world. One of their clients is the U.S. military, which is tapping unwitting app users for intelligence, surveillance and passive data collection. https://t.co/17petYglWl pic.twitter.com/5P5XRaOKUY

— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) June 24, 2021

If you're using the Premise app in Pakistan you're a National Security threat. It's literally freelance spying- @schaheid @commandeleven
"App Taps Unwitting Users Abroad to Gather Intelligence" https://t.co/bQ9eG1J4Rq

— H U Khan (@Huk06) June 25, 2021

Did I hear anyone say Snowcrash? https://t.co/XoJ24nsat7

— Patrick of Stockholm ★ (@pgeuder) June 24, 2021

So what would you say is the...premise? https://t.co/Z1izDD1rFk

— Ken Yeung (@thekenyeung) June 24, 2021

Military and defense contractors and intelligence orgs are actively using unwitting app users to gather intell

They pay them a pittance to take photos in a host of areas not always accessible to outsiders. App users don’t realise what their photos are being used for. https://t.co/6kGoFcQ2D2

— Dr Deepa Govindarajan Driver (@deepa_driver) June 25, 2021

You know I thought a bunch of the stuff in Westworld's 3rd Season was heavy handed, over the top, and way too on the nose.... and fuck I already don't feel that way now... https://t.co/q0H6MzZZY4

— Anton "Doors & Corners" Hand (@AntonHand) June 24, 2021

WSJ EXCLUSIVE: The consumer app Premise has assembled a workforce of hundreds of thousands of smartphone users worldwide, some of whom are unwittingly tasked with doing basic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance for the U.S. military https://t.co/V9vJfS0DZc

— Anthony DeRosa ? (@Anthony) June 24, 2021

Gig work comes to intelligence and surveillance.

Micro-tasking app Premise Data recruited thousands around the world to do basic tasks for small payments. But one of its clients is the Pentagon, which is tasking users and harvesting the data.https://t.co/17petYxXkV

— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) June 24, 2021

Uber, but for intelligence-gathering?

Meet the TaskRabbit-like app Premise that's being used to do intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance work in developing countries. Its thousands of users are in the dark that they're doing military work. https://t.co/17petYglWl

— Byron Tau (@ByronTau) June 24, 2021

The future Peter Thiel wants https://t.co/KofnBv2kCd

— Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) June 24, 2021