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There are other privacy problems with wireless hotspots too. A new example: you can't log in to Starbucks' wifi (via Google) without verifying a real email addr
by JoshMnem 9y ago
There are other privacy problems with wireless hotspots too. A new example: you can't log in to Starbucks' wifi (via Google) without verifying a real email address through Experian's API. (Open the browser console and watch the requests -- see if you can use a fake email address.) Who knows where all that data is going.
Most hotspot providers are probably tracking your physical locations by MAC address, which can be linked with other data. It looks like Peet's recently started doing that as well.
- alasdair_ 9y ago> A new example: you can't log in to Starbucks' wifi (via Google) without verifying a real email address through Experian's API. (Open the browser console and watch the requests -- see if you can use a fake email address.) I used a fake address yesterday without issue.
- JoshMnem 9y agoA fake address meaning one that you don't own, or a fake address meaning one that doesn't exist at all? You might have entered someone else's real email account that exists in Experian's databases, which could be another serious problem waiting to happen.