11–20 of 158 posts
GPS for a long time haven't been used as the only source of location, to some extent it can now be considered a "2nd fiddle" to INS since solid state INS sensors are very good these days. The phone receives location information from wifi and more importantly it gets location messages from cell towers, and it uses dead reckoning[0] using it's INS sensors. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_reckoning If you want "p…
From the comments section of the top-voted answer: > Something you didn't mention: when a Google-car goes around taking pictures for StreetView it also maps the location and all wifi networks name. So taking a new router with a new network name from a different ISP might work, but only until they come near your house to update their pictures... > - Bakuriu I am not sure how this makes me feel :-|
https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...
https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms....
From the comments section of the top-voted answer: > Something you didn't mention: when a Google-car goes around taking pictures for StreetView it also maps the location and all wifi networks name. So taking a new router with a new network name from a different ISP might work, but only until they come near your house to update their pictures... > - Bakuriu I am not sure how this makes me feel :-|
From the comments section of the top-voted answer: > Something you didn't mention: when a Google-car goes around taking pictures for StreetView it also maps the location and all wifi networks name. So taking a new router with a new network name from a different ISP might work, but only until they come near your house to update their pictures... > - Bakuriu I am not sure how this makes me feel :-|
You can opt out by adding _nomap to the end of your ssid. There's another string you can add to opt out for Microsoft. https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...
"_optout" only gets you out of Microsoft's WiFi sharing of open networks, which allows other computers to automatically connect to your network. To opt out of Microsoft's location tracking of your router's location, you need to go to https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/support/location-block-li... and input your MAC address (BSSID). Microsoft uses the MAC address instead of WiFi name (SSID), because supposedly they don't collect WiFi names at all due to privacy concerns.
[0]https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...
This is not tower triangulation. Android searches for access points even when wifi is turned off. If anyone (with GPS enabled) uses that wifi with any google services the bssid will end up in their database. Also if the google car has been nearby it has recorded the presence of the wifi access point at that location [1]. Before you freak out: Apple and Microsoft also use access point information for positioning, alth…
This raises another imprtant question: Is it okay for a private company to have detailed positioning data from inside of your office or home? Who would really need that sort of information? I understand how this can be useful at the mall but I think I can find my way around my own house thank you.
This is not tower triangulation. Android searches for access points even when wifi is turned off. If anyone (with GPS enabled) uses that wifi with any google services the bssid will end up in their database. Also if the google car has been nearby it has recorded the presence of the wifi access point at that location [1]. Before you freak out: Apple and Microsoft also use access point information for positioning, alth…
That would be very not ok if it would happen with wifi off. I turn my wifi off to save the battery, and it wouldn't do much if it was still looking for broadcasts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can opt out by adding _nomap to the end of your ssid. There's another string you can add to opt out for Microsoft. https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/3g3xyu/for_wifi_ms...
The string for Microsoft seems to have a different effect, one of the comments[0] says: "_optout" only gets you out of Microsoft's WiFi sharing of open networks, which allows other computers to automatically connect to your network. To opt out of Microsoft's location tracking of your router's location, you need to go to https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/support/location-block-li... and input your MAC address (BSSID)…
This is not tower triangulation. Android searches for access points even when wifi is turned off. If anyone (with GPS enabled) uses that wifi with any google services the bssid will end up in their database. Also if the google car has been nearby it has recorded the presence of the wifi access point at that location [1]. Before you freak out: Apple and Microsoft also use access point information for positioning, alth…
This raises another imprtant question: Is it okay for a private company to have detailed positioning data from inside of your office or home? Who would really need that sort of information? I understand how this can be useful at the mall but I think I can find my way around my own house thank you.
I don't know the answer to that question, but I have a guess at the answer to another question: "is it okay for a private company to create a geodatabase of SSID strings that were freely and willingly broadcast via radio?"
I think the answer is "yes". Ten, fifteen years ago, if there were an HN story about how I, owner of a small business you've never heard of, created a database of SSIDs that are broadcast and tagged them with lat/longs, I'd bet money it would make the top of the front page. Bonus points if I included an API and threw the thing up on github.
Fine, it's evil, append "_nomap" to your SSID string. That's fine for stopping Google, but it won't stop "owner of small business you've never heard of". Don't broad SSIDs, but then (IIRC) one can still obtain the MAC address.
But in the end, if a radio broadcasts something then one has little recourse when receivers use that broadcast in ways you didn't intend. The analogy crumbles under a little scrutiny, but it's similar to FM broadcasters complain about geodatabases of FM towers because the intent of the broadcaster was to allow you to listen to drive-time hyenas, not use it for location services.
GPS for a long time haven't been used as the only source of location, to some extent it can now be considered a "2nd fiddle" to INS since solid state INS sensors are very good these days. The phone receives location information from wifi and more importantly it gets location messages from cell towers, and it uses dead reckoning[0] using it's INS sensors. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_reckoning If you want "p…
Do you have a citation on phones using inertial navigation?
Orientation/heading from a phone's gyroscope/compass can be pretty reasonable, but most mems accelerometers are pretty much crap for dead reckoning use when loosely attached to a person. I could definitely see some interesting ideas with cell tower position data + heading + pedometer estimation getting merged, but I have a hard time believing that works in practice.