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From the comments section of the top-voted answer: > Something you didn't mention: when a Google-car goes around taking pictures for StreetView it also maps th

From the comments section of the top-voted answer: > Something you didn't mention: when a Google-car goes around taking pictures for StreetView it also maps the location and all wifi networks name. So taking a new router with a new network name from a different ISP might work, but only until they come near your house to update their pictures... > - Bakuriu I am not sure how this makes me feel :-|

wil421 10y ago
You can opt out by adding _nomap to the end of your ssid. There's another string you can add to opt out for Microsoft. https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms_optout_and_google_nomap_does_anyone/ https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...
- dEnigma 10y ago
  The string for Microsoft seems to have a different effect, one of the comments[0] says: "_optout" only gets you out of Microsoft's WiFi sharing of open networks, which allows other computers to automatically connect to your network. To opt out of Microsoft's location tracking of your router's location, you need to go to https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/support/location-block-list https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/support/location-block-li... and input your MAC address (BSSID). Microsoft uses the MAC address instead of WiFi name (SSID), because supposedly they don't collect WiFi names at all due to privacy concerns. [0]https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms_optout_and_google_nomap_does_anyone/ctuvvwn https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...
  - wil421 10y ago
    Nice catch. I wish google did this. It it easier to put my MAC address on some list than having to change my SSID.
RKearney 10y ago
You could create a faraday cage around your home to prevent your Wi-Fi signals from broadcasting outside your home. Otherwise I don't really see the issue with Google picking up signals from the street that people blast outside the extents of their homes.
- kuschku 10y ago
  So I can go around with a telezoom lens attached to a drone and photograph into every backyard, into every window, photograph people naked in the shower, children changing clothes on 21st floor thinking no one will look, etc – and publish that? Or maybe we as society do already have reasonable limits where "publicly available" is not equivalent to "publicly indexable".
  - khedoros 10y ago
    Do you agree that there's a difference between collecting information from spherically-broadcast radio waves, to which most building walls are nearly transparent, and collecting other electromagnetic waves by putting a detector in a place where most people wouldn't assume it would exist? I'd argue that using opaque building materials to block emission of radiation in directions that one might an observer to be located shows a clear intent to establish a degree of privacy, and that someone flying a quadcopter into unusual places to take advantage of holes in peoples' reasonable expectations should be counted as a violation. The types of radiation that you're comparing have two very important differences that influence people's expectations: First, they're blocked by very different sets of substances. Second, we've got a detector for one of those ranges built into our heads. I don't think it's reasonable to treat the two segments of the spectrum in the same way. I expect vehicles to drive by my home. I expect people in those vehicles to have wifi devices that can see the broadcasts from my AP. I expect their devices to capture that data, possibly store it, and possibly transmit it to another device. I think it's unreasonable to assume that someone won't do that. I don't have a strong argument for how capturing and publicly indexing that information is harmful to me.
  - rohit89 10y ago
    No, this is analogous to cameras on every street. Perfectly legal even if they are recording children ...
Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
I think I'm just going to start using a hiden wifi network.
- Viper007Bond 10y ago
  Does that actually do anything? I thought it was trivial to detect those.
  - mike-cardwell 10y ago
    It does do something yes. The complete opposite of what you want. When a modern phone connects to a non-hidden wifi access point for the first time, it remembers it can connect to that and passively listens for it to announce it's self in future. When a modern phone connects to a hidden wifi access point for the first time, it remembers that it can connect to that access point, and also that it wont receive any announcements about it's presence in future. So how does it auto-connect in future? By constantly shouting "ARE YOU THERE HIDDEN ACCESS POINT NAMED FOO?". Making you even easier to track.
    - Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
      Can the auto-connect be turned off? Perhaps scripted to try when your GPS coordinates get close enough to your house?
      - mike-cardwell 10y ago
        A device could be made to work that way. I'm not aware of any that have that feature built in. You could certainly use something like Llama to turn wifi on or off depending on where you are located, but that isn't quite what you asked for. I don't know if Android or iOS have APIs available for an app to automatically add/remove wifi networks, but if they do, then that would be useful for achieving what you suggest.
spyder 10y ago
And don't forget that they "accidentally" collected not only SSID names and positions but the data transmitted trough open wifi networks: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/may/15/google-admits-storing-private-data https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/may/15/google-ad... OK, it's only open wifi data that can be accessed by anybody (nearby), but still "I am not sure how this makes me feel"

wil421 10y ago

You can opt out by adding _nomap to the end of your ssid. There's another string you can add to opt out for Microsoft. https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms_optout_and_google_nomap_does_anyone/ https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...

dEnigma 10y ago
The string for Microsoft seems to have a different effect, one of the comments[0] says: "_optout" only gets you out of Microsoft's WiFi sharing of open networks, which allows other computers to automatically connect to your network. To opt out of Microsoft's location tracking of your router's location, you need to go to https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/support/location-block-list https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/support/location-block-li... and input your MAC address (BSSID). Microsoft uses the MAC address instead of WiFi name (SSID), because supposedly they don't collect WiFi names at all due to privacy concerns. [0]https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms_optout_and_google_nomap_does_anyone/ctuvvwn https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...
- wil421 10y ago
  Nice catch. I wish google did this. It it easier to put my MAC address on some list than having to change my SSID.

RKearney 10y ago

You could create a faraday cage around your home to prevent your Wi-Fi signals from broadcasting outside your home. Otherwise I don't really see the issue with Google picking up signals from the street that people blast outside the extents of their homes.

kuschku 10y ago
So I can go around with a telezoom lens attached to a drone and photograph into every backyard, into every window, photograph people naked in the shower, children changing clothes on 21st floor thinking no one will look, etc – and publish that? Or maybe we as society do already have reasonable limits where "publicly available" is not equivalent to "publicly indexable".
- khedoros 10y ago
  Do you agree that there's a difference between collecting information from spherically-broadcast radio waves, to which most building walls are nearly transparent, and collecting other electromagnetic waves by putting a detector in a place where most people wouldn't assume it would exist? I'd argue that using opaque building materials to block emission of radiation in directions that one might an observer to be located shows a clear intent to establish a degree of privacy, and that someone flying a quadcopter into unusual places to take advantage of holes in peoples' reasonable expectations should be counted as a violation. The types of radiation that you're comparing have two very important differences that influence people's expectations: First, they're blocked by very different sets of substances. Second, we've got a detector for one of those ranges built into our heads. I don't think it's reasonable to treat the two segments of the spectrum in the same way. I expect vehicles to drive by my home. I expect people in those vehicles to have wifi devices that can see the broadcasts from my AP. I expect their devices to capture that data, possibly store it, and possibly transmit it to another device. I think it's unreasonable to assume that someone won't do that. I don't have a strong argument for how capturing and publicly indexing that information is harmful to me.
- rohit89 10y ago
  No, this is analogous to cameras on every street. Perfectly legal even if they are recording children ...

Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago

I think I'm just going to start using a hiden wifi network.

Viper007Bond 10y ago
Does that actually do anything? I thought it was trivial to detect those.
- mike-cardwell 10y ago
  It does do something yes. The complete opposite of what you want. When a modern phone connects to a non-hidden wifi access point for the first time, it remembers it can connect to that and passively listens for it to announce it's self in future. When a modern phone connects to a hidden wifi access point for the first time, it remembers that it can connect to that access point, and also that it wont receive any announcements about it's presence in future. So how does it auto-connect in future? By constantly shouting "ARE YOU THERE HIDDEN ACCESS POINT NAMED FOO?". Making you even easier to track.
  - Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
    Can the auto-connect be turned off? Perhaps scripted to try when your GPS coordinates get close enough to your house?
    - mike-cardwell 10y ago
      A device could be made to work that way. I'm not aware of any that have that feature built in. You could certainly use something like Llama to turn wifi on or off depending on where you are located, but that isn't quite what you asked for. I don't know if Android or iOS have APIs available for an app to automatically add/remove wifi networks, but if they do, then that would be useful for achieving what you suggest.

spyder 10y ago

And don't forget that they "accidentally" collected not only SSID names and positions but the data transmitted trough open wifi networks: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/may/15/google-admits-storing-private-data https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/may/15/google-ad... OK, it's only open wifi data that can be accessed by anybody (nearby), but still "I am not sure how this makes me feel"