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Google Deducing Wireless Location Data

Posted by timothy on from the peekaboo-the-van-sees-you dept.

bizwriter writes "When it comes to knowing where wireless users are, the carriers have had a lock on the data. But a patent application shows that Google is trying to deduce the information based on packet headers and estimated transmission rates. This would let it walk right around carriers and become another source of location data to advertisers."

2 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Carriers can mess with this? by KenMcM · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What's stopping carriers from deliberately slowing transmission rates for random customers during random intervals? Just enough such that Google's data is inaccurate.

  2. The real reason for Google's DNS change suggestion by GrantRobertson · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Now we know the real reason for the suggestion Google has made recently to change the way DNS works to report part of the requesting IP address. They don't give one whit about decreasing unnecessary traffic. They just want to use that for additional location data.