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SSIDs aren't private information, but it does seem like the natural privacy of scale should apply. I'm ok with people who are nearby being aware of my SSID... d
by bingidingi 5y ago
SSIDs aren't private information, but it does seem like the natural privacy of scale should apply. I'm ok with people who are nearby being aware of my SSID... does that mean it should be ok for Google to collect millions of SSIDs to use in a profit-generating positioning database?
It seems like it should fall under a regulation similar to photographs. You can take photos of me in a public place and do whatever you want with them until you're using my likeness in a commercial capacity... then you need to ask me first. Opt-out isn't enough, it needs to be opt-in. If that doesn't work for your business then too bad.
- xvector 5y agoYour "SSID privacy" is at risk regardless of whether Google collects information or not: https://wigle.net/ https://wigle.net/ In the end, asking people to please not snoop on you never has and never will be a security measure that works. You need something tangible to protect your privacy, so as to make it virtually impossible. We already have this. Every modern mobile OS gates the SSID API behind location permissions. Given such protections, practically speaking, there isn't any problem with SSID being bound to location information.
- bingidingi 5y agoI'm not asking people to stop snooping. I'm asking for corporations to be barred from profiting off of publicly accessible information that can personally identify me without asking for permission first. Education, journalism, research and the like fall into a different category... this also applies in the "photographs of people in public spaces" example. WiGLE would still exist in that niche.
- xvector 5y agoHow can a SSID:GPS database personally identify you? Give an example, please?