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Is there a link somewhere that says how they collect that information? If they're geolocating through chrome and building a database out of that I'd consider i
by LegitShady 5y ago
Is there a link somewhere that says how they collect that information? If they're geolocating through chrome and building a database out of that I'd consider it a ubusive but if they're just driving around reading brooadcasted wifi ssids and correlating with the vehicles how position I'm not sure that's any worse than using any other landmark.
- alias_neo 5y agoIt's collected by every Android device on the planet which has background scanning enabled. Have neighbours? Have WiFi? Neighbour has GPS on? They can GPS pinpoint your WiFi by signal strength between the devices that "see" it, then correlate that with the GPS from the devices that are allowing it. I moved home a few years ago, just 200M away, my location in GMaps, when on WiFi remained at my old address 200M away for a good year (I moved my AP with me and kept the SSID).
- tgv 5y agoBut your telephone can tell them who's connected to that access point and what it's IP address is. Then they suddenly know more.
- yesbabyyes 5y agoAny device that has GPS and wifi can contribute data positioning that wifi BSSID. Google has Android which will do that for any device that has opted in (presumably, anyone using the feature for better positioning will participate in the collection). Others use other sources. Google's (and others) stance is likely that cellular and wifi information is publicly broadcast.
- LegitShady 5y agoI agree that wifi beacons are publicly broadcast. The issue is no way to use google services that require location without contributing to that data and not being up front about its use. But all the big companies are abusive in terms of privacy so it seems like it’s par for the course. I know its not technically a product but it always feels like these sorts of schemes should be illegal tying. Can’t make an iOS app without supporting safari? Should be illegal tying. Can’t use google maps without feeding google information about the wifi networks around you? Should be illegal tying.
- yesbabyyes 5y agoI'm not sure that's the case, though? The way I have understood it is that if you opt in to Google's enhanced location (utilizing wifi and cellular APs), you also opt in to the collection of the same. Personally, I just decline that option and stay with regular GPS. I remember a time before GPS (or Glonass, or Galileo, etc) and I have to say, I think it's just amazing. (I also remember a time with "selected availability", and while I appreciate that that particular veil has been lifted, I am a little bit concerned with the amount of power this gives to the US military. While I am sure Google would be basically an organ of the US military during war, it still feels better that alternatives outside of military power exist).
- LegitShady 5y agoIt’s not clear to me what settings change this, or where I’ve agreed to them. I’ll investigate. edit: on my pixel this setting for 'google location' was hidden beneath a 'more settings' dropdown in the location setting page. I had no idea it was there. Definitely dark patterns of hiding settings they don't want you to know about. Thanks.
- thatguy0900 5y agoIt was originally all collected by the same vans that did the Google maps street view pictures. Im not sure how it's kept up to date, though.
- alias_neo 5y agoA few billion Android devices in the wild is how it's kept up to date.