“However, location data is highly sensitive when linked to an individual over time and across venues.”
#U HE HIVE INSTALL LOCATION MAC MAC#
“Analyzing MAC signals from mobile phones can be valuable for retailers and others to calculate wait times, understand peak versus off-hours, or assign staff,” Gray said. Stacey Gray, policy counsel at the Future of Privacy Forum, told PCWorld that associating a MAC address with someone’s movements between locations reveals “highly sensitive” information. This panel from Euclid shows some of the data available to businesses on a customer traveling between their venues. Where they shop, where they live, and what places they frequent at certain times could be laid bare by this data. This can reveal a detailed profile of someone’s daily habits. “After a user signs up, we associate their email address and other personal information with their device’s MAC address and with any location history we may previously have gathered (or later gather) for that device’s MAC address,” according to Zenreach’s privacy policy. But as long as a device’s MAC address is linked to someone’s profile, and the device’s Wi-Fi is turned on, the movements of its owner can be followed by any hotspot from the same provider.
MAC addresses alone don’t contain identifying information besides the make of a device, such as whether a smartphone is an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy. Dieter Holger and Rob Schultz/IDGĪs Euclid explains in its privacy policy, “… if you bring your mobile device to your favorite clothing store today that is a Location-and then a popular local restaurant a few days later that is also a Location-we may know that a mobile device was in both locations based on seeing the same MAC Address.” That’s the unique alphanumeric ID that devices broadcast when Wi-Fi is switched on. What distinguishes location-based marketing hotspot providers like Zenreach and Euclid is that the personal information you enter in the captive portal-like your email address, phone number, or social media profile-can be linked to your laptop or smartphone’s Media Access Control (MAC) address. EuclidĮuclid’s captive portal notes they track location. Euclid is more explicit, saying, “you agree to provide this device’s location” next to where you can tick a box to consent. In the case of Zenreach, “by clicking ‘go online,’ you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy,” allowing them to track your location over time. These networks, Zenreach and Euclid, log the locations of millions of smartphone and laptop owners who pass within range of their hotspots-even when these people don’t sign on. We reached out to all of the Wi-Fi companies, but only two with major operations in the United States responded to questions about tracking hotspot users. Some phrases that tip off this practice are “location data,” “location history,” “your location,” “device identifiers,” and “MAC address” (more on this later). PCWorld reviewed the privacy policies of a dozen Wi-Fi hotspot providers and found that they commonly ask users to agree to location tracking when they sign on. PCWorld spoke to privacy experts and Wi-Fi location-analytics companies to learn more about how this technology works, and what you can do to avoid being tracked. These hotspots are part of America’s burgeoning location-based Wi-Fi marketing industry. But what might surprise you is that some hotspot providers are taking data collection a step further, and quietly tracking millions of users’ whereabouts even after they’ve left an establishment.
That’s probably not a surprise to most Wi-Fi hotspot users.
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