this post was submitted on 24 May 2026
89 points (98.9% liked)

Privacy

5695 readers
40 users here now

Welcome! This is a community for all those who are interested in protecting their privacy.

Rules

PS: Don't be a smartass and try to game the system, we'll know if you're breaking the rules when we see it!

  1. Be civil and no prejudice
  2. Don't promote big-tech software
  3. No apathy and defeatism for privacy (i.e. "They already have my data, why bother?")
  4. No reposting of news that was already posted
  5. No crypto, blockchain, NFTs
  6. No Xitter links (if absolutely necessary, use xcancel)

Related communities:

Some of these are only vaguely related, but great communities.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
otter@lemmy.ca
shaytan@lemmy.dbzer0.com
89
Ordinary WiFi can now identify people with near perfect accuracy (www.sciencedaily.com)
submitted 2 days ago by favoredponcho@lemmy.zip to c/privacy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
29 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 37 points 2 days ago (3 children)

This requires training on the specific network that you want to target, so unless the snoop has several weeks worth of training data where they know exactly what room you're in at what time, then it's not a realistic attack. Someone who has that much inside information doesn't need this technology to know where in the building you are.

[–] Carnelian@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

What’s stopping someone from just deploying their own wifi networks around, similar to flock cameras?

[–] MissesAutumnRains@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 2 days ago

Presumably, the room itself. This isn't about the router so much as the shape of the room and the way the waves move through the room in terms of data.

[–] Brainsploosh@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So, you use it to map out an empty office and then to surveil workers?

[–] eleijeep@piefed.social 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It has to be trained on the disturbances in the EM field that people create so no, an empty office wouldn't train it.

[–] certified_expert@lemmy.world 0 points 2 days ago

But... if the router collects the data... it is just a matter of time. The room will stay constant. People will change. And there you have the fundamental information to infer ID

[–] NoosFraba@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I don't think anyone choosing this method cares about a week or two. That's a payday my guy, you could blink. I live my life two weeks at a time and years have gone by in seconds =P