Google To Allow Location Service Opt-out 284
TripleP writes "In a kind gesture from Google, they're allowing wireless AP owners to opt out of their location service. You only have to change your SSID to include '_nomap' as a suffix. Is it just me, or should this 'service' be an explicit opt-in?"
If you don't want your SSID to be mappable (Score:5, Informative)
Then don't broadcast it!
They aren't doing any snooping on your private data here, just noting where different SSIDs are broadcasting. Unless your SSID name consists of your name, DOB, mother's maiden name, etc. you have nothing to worry about.
Re:If you don't want your SSID to be mappable (Score:5, Informative)
But it's not. Nobody can look on a map and see your name, If they're standing by your house and can receive the signal then they can tell where they are, but that's all.
(Unless Google are now publishing the complete lookup table, in which case I feel somewhat different.)
Re:you dont opt in to webcrawling (Score:3, Informative)
The last place where I used to work used lots (over 25 per location) of barcode scanners that work over WiFi, and runs 24/7 shifts for order picking, loading and unloading. Changing the SSID may not entail much if you have a centralized management system, but these scanners have to be configured by hand through a touchscreen.
So no, changing SSIDs is not "always trivial". I would have much preferred if they just used the broadcast flag for it (i.e. don't catalog hidden SSIDs)
The SSID isn't actually used by the service (Score:4, Informative)
Just to clarify what seems to confuse some people here, the actual service doesn't use the SSID for location, it uses the MAC address. They're using the SSID to allow you to opt out, but when someone submits WIFI info for location, they're sending the mac address of the station, not the SSID. MAC addresses are unique (or at least they're supposed to be. I'm looking at you Shanzai.) SSIDs are not unique. If they used SSIDs, you'd never be able to figure out where "linksys" or "netgear" actually are.
Re:You are BROADCASTING your SSID. (Score:5, Informative)
Every access point in the world has the ability to shut off its SSID announcements.
If you're not broadcasting your SSID, Google will still map it. If you don't want them to, you'll actually have to broadcast an SSID, and append _nomap to it, since anyone can find your router's MAC address even if you're not broadcasting your SSID.