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> ethically sourced: opt-in only data collection Good on them but how does this work? If my neighbour scans my WiFi network and uploads it to BeaconDB I didn’t
by cimm 2y ago
> ethically sourced: opt-in only data collection
Good on them but how does this work? If my neighbour scans my WiFi network and uploads it to BeaconDB I didn’t exactly opt-in, did I? The privacy policy mentions you can add ‘_optout’ to the WiFi name, so it’s more opt-out instead of opt-in?
- FireInsight 2y agoThe person collecting the data opted in to doing it, heh. As far as the data collectors are concerned, your wifi is out in the public.
- joelkoen 2y agoThis line refers to opting in to using your device to collect this data. Apple and Google are taking advantage of their global user coverage by using their devices to collect this data without their consent. Your WiFi network is broadcasting its presence 10 times a second in all directions. It is well known that you should not put sensitive information in your network SSID, for example, as anybody nearby can pick that up. Hence, you can opt out here instead.
- dividuum 2y agoWhile most users probably don't realize that they contribute to Wifi crowd sourcing, AFAIR using locations services is opt-in on iOS. So "without their consent" doesn't seem true. The info popup also explicitly mentions the WiFi location crowd sourcing.
- axelthegerman 2y agoSure but any opt-in iOS user walking past other people's wifi is crowd sourcing those networks without the network operators consent. Unless they only contribute networks that the device has authenticated with.
- fc_on_hn 2y ago> If my neighbour scans my WiFi network and uploads it to BeaconDB I didn’t exactly opt-in, did I? To clarify: all phones doing geolocation are already uploading your AP macaddr to remote location services, but BeaconDB will *not* publish this information in cleartext. Any data dump will contain only non-reversible cryptographically hashed data or aggregated data.
- kevincox 2y agoA MAC address is only 48 bits and some of the bits are restricted. It is well within the range of brute force to reverse all of the hashes.
- joelkoen 2y agoYou can truncate the hash to cause collisions, meaning that one MAC address does not map to one location. This requires the client to be aware of multiple physically nearby MACs in order to get a location, as it then needs to estimate which "possible" locations are most likely. This is a really interesting problem, and I've loved thinking about it recently. If you're keen on it too I'm happy to discuss further, feel free to reach out.
- userbinator 2y agoTo put that into perspective, 48 bits is 256T, which is roughly the number of bits in a 32TB hard drive.
- account42 2y ago> and some of the bits are restricted
- landdownsundar 2y agoAbsolutely right, great point. That's why I only use Windows addresses now. Can't break those with brute force!
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- petre 2y agoYou can opt to hide your SSID and use 5GHz WiFi which doesn't reach too far, gets attenuated through walls, so it's basically kind of useless as a geolocation beacon.