Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Android Leaks Location Data Via Wi-Fi

Posted by Soulskill on from the we-all-know-about-your-addiction-to-krispy-kreme dept.

Bismillah writes: The Preferred Network Offload feature in Android extends battery life, but it also leaks location data, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. What's more, the same flaw is found in Apple OS X and Windows 7. "This location history comes in the form of the names of wireless networks your phone has previously connected to. These frequently identify places you've been, including homes ('Tom’s Wi-Fi'), workplaces ('Company XYZ office net'), churches and political offices ('County Party HQ'), small businesses ('Toulouse Lautrec's house of ill-repute'), and travel destinations ('Tehran Airport wifi'). This data is arguably more dangerous than that leaked in previous location data scandals because it clearly denotes in human language places that you've spent enough time to use the Wi-Fi."

4 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong title by crashumbc · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Should be popular SMART PHONES leak WiFi data.

    Sensationalist bullshit

  2. Not just Android by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The sensational headline fails to mention that most operating systems, including OSX and Windows, are affect. In fact most wifi devices are and we have known about this problem since the early days of wifi.

    I wish I had the time to mod the shit down before it hit the front page.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    1. Re:Not just Android by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 1, Insightful

      That's not sticking to the man. That's making the hysterical NSA alarmists go nuts. So, quite the opposite.

    2. Re:Not just Android by jones_supa · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I have one neighbor that for some insane reason named his after his address. 123 Johnson road

      He is just politely revealing who is the owner of the station. In this way it can also be seen as a responsible thing. If that particular station is causing some kind of problems to others, it is easy to contact the owner to discuss about it.