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"In my case, there's no wifi, I'm on cable." But is your computer's WiFi receiver turned off? If not, that's how Google knows where you are. They have an enorm
by Samuel_Michon 15y ago
"In my case, there's no wifi, I'm on cable."
But is your computer's WiFi receiver turned off? If not, that's how Google knows where you are. They have an enormous database of MAC addresses of WiFi access points and their geographic location. Many of those were gathered while taking StreetView pictures, others are provided by companies like Skyhook Wireless.
I have a wired connection (fiber optic) so I usually leave WiFi turned off. After reading your question, I tried the geolocator in Google Maps. It couldn't find me at all. Once I turned on WiFi, it knew exactly where I am. After I turned WiFi off again, Google still knew my location, but only in the web browser that I used before.
- rorrr 15y agoYes, I do have a router, but I doubt google has visited us, we only recently moved here. There's no street view anywhere near here, as I said.
- Samuel_Michon 15y agoOK, if Google didn't drive by, then another company could've -- or perhaps someone used an Android device near your house. For instance, check this map to see whether Skyhook Wireless has wardriven by your house: http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/coverage.php http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/coverage.php And again, they don't need your router. You just need to have a WiFi receiver in your computer, turn it on, and your computer will scan for nearby networks. The MAC addresses of your neighbors' networks are checked against those in Google's database. If Google finds three or more, it knows exactly where you are.
- gst 15y agoGoogle does not need to visit you as the collect this data over the Android phones. So basically if there's a single Android user with WiFi enabled (but with GPS disabled) they already know your approximate location (due to the GSM cellid). If that happens multiple times they can use triangulation to increase the accuracy of this data. And if there are some Android users with GPS enabled that "see" the WiFi access point, Google can pinpoint the location very very accurate. It's possible to disable this "feature" in the Android settings, but I guess most users don't bother changing this.
- keeperofdakeys 15y agoIf an Android phone has wireless location settings enabled, it will also report the locations of wireless access points to google. So someone with an android phone has seen your access point, and it has uploaded the position.