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Is there a way to prevent this data from being used? Can I somehow not broadcast certain data over wifi or otherwise keep google and apple from using my wifi me
by pard68 2y ago
Is there a way to prevent this data from being used? Can I somehow not broadcast certain data over wifi or otherwise keep google and apple from using my wifi metadata without my consent?
- ssl-3 2y agoThere's a surefire way to prevent this kind of thing forever: Stop broadcasting your data on the air for anyone to hear, and others will stop being able to listen to it.
- NewJazz 2y agoTHIS IS A PRIVATE COMMENT; ANYONE READING THIS COMMENT IS IN VIOLATION OF NEWJAZZ POLIS-Y AND WILL BE SUBJECT TO PUNISHMENT.
- invalidlogin 2y agoI kinda love you.
- kstrauser 2y agoFrustrating, but true. It's our own hardware shouting its details into the wild for anyone to pick up.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- runjake 2y agoYes. From this article: > But in late March 2024, Apple quietly tweaked its privacy policy, allowing people to opt out of having the location of their wireless access points collected and shared by Apple — by appending “_nomap” to the end of the Wi-Fi access point’s name (SSID). https://support.apple.com/en-us/102515 https://support.apple.com/en-us/102515 (Search for "_nomap") Google also supports this scheme: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1725632 https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1725632 Wigle.net, too: https://wigle.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2330 https://wigle.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2330 Would I trust any of this? No.
- pard68 2y agoI saw that, but as you point out, whether it works or not is all a trust thing.
- politelemon 2y agoIt's ridiculous that it's we who have to opt out through attention-drawing configuration which has no guarantee of being respected in the future.
- DANmode 2y agoOr indeed the present.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- kstrauser 2y agoI find that incredibly irksome. I'm glad they provide an opt-out mechanism, but strongly dislike that it requires me to give my Wi-Fi network an ugly name. And what if 2 vendors have different opt-out strings such that I can't choose to stay out of, say, Apple and Google's DBs at the same time?
- QuercusMax 2y agoWelcome to the future where our wifi network names are as ugly as browsers' User-Agent strings
- madars 2y agoThis is already happening: Microsoft's opt-out is _optout (can appear anywhere in SSID), Google/Apple's _nomap has to be at the end so prepare for YourAPName_optout_nomap! https://superuser.com/questions/1005235/wi-fi-opt-out-microsoft-google https://superuser.com/questions/1005235/wi-fi-opt-out-micros...
- kstrauser 2y ago
- banish-m4 2y agoNot really because they can track AP MAC addresses even when not broadcasting SSIDs. The only sure way is to use only wired networking.
- gruez 2y ago>without my consent? consent isn't needed, given that broadcasting your SSID in the open clearly fails the "expectation of privacy" test. Also from a practical angle, what exactly are you trying to prevent? That there's a wifi router at your house?
- eproxus 2y agoBut most people don’t intentionally “broadcast their SSID in the open”. They just want to surf wirelessly in their homes with as little hassle as possible. Until there’s technology that lets you do that easily I think this definitely violates privacy. Especially if unique information like MAC addresses is collect, and not only the Wi-Fi name. I wonder how MAC addresses are treated under GDPR since e.g. IP addresses are considered personal information.
- ssl-3 2y agoWhen a consumer can see their neighbors' networks' SSIDs being broadcast on their own pocket computer, but somehow doesn't think that anyone else can see their own network's SSID, then: That's magical thinking. Magical thinking is not a privacy problem. Magical thinking is a cognition problem.