Re: Apple changed their documentation at my request but it proves they don't care about privacy

Chris wrote:
>> I don't remember whether you addressed this ... how does someone who 
>> hasn't visited your address (i.e they already know where you live) 
>> discover what the BSSID of your router is?
> 
> Apparently it's a complete invasion of privacy in the same way google maps
> having actual pictures of his house and the phone book having his name,
> address *and* phone number isn't.

Hi Andy and Chris,

I'm going to give you an example of how absurd your attempt at ridiculing
the documented situation is, using your own analogies, by way of impact.

Your questions are good ones, but it's getting tiresome to answer them over
and over and over and over and over and over again, so please think first.

The question is the wrong question, as it's kind of like asking what's so
dangerous about everyone in the world having your social security number.

You're essentially ridiculing privacy because, to you, a social security
number issued to you by the gov'ment, well, it's "just a number" after all. 

One third of your argument ridiculing privacy is that you argue your
government-issued ID unique to you should be available to everyone.

To you, it's just a number.
It's not you.

It's just a number: 123.45.6789
How dangerous can a simple number be to your privacy, you argue. 

That's the 1st third of your argument, attempting to ridicule privacy in
your desperate attempt to absolve your religious God of any responsibility.

By ridiculing the fact that a social security number is "just a number",
you also forget that in this case, that number is associated with your
exact GPS location (within the accuracy known for GPS, which is meters).

Even that doesn't change your opinion that a social security number, tied
to an exact GPS location, is "just a number" and "just a location on a
map".

So that's the 2nd third of your argument, which is that your location is
"just a map" and everyone in the world should be able to easily locate you.

You go further to ridicule that having a social security number and a GPS
location of where the person who owns that social security number is "just
a number and a map", you then try to ridicule the fact that anyone in the
world can access your social security number and where you are, from
anywhere else in the world.

That's the 3rd third of your argument attempting to absolve Apple of all
responsibility for the design of the Apple WPS system as described here.
 *Surveilling the Masses with Wi-Fi-Based Positioning Systems*
 <https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.14975>

Did you read that paper? 
Of course not.

Otherwise, you couldn't make your absurd accusations that a unique
government id tied to you, along with your exact location, is "just a
number" and "just a map". 

To further show the absurdity of your attempt at ridiculing this issue, not
only can anyone in the world track your movements by social security number
and by location, but they can track EVERYONE in the world by their social
security number (or whatever unique government ID) by running a python
script on Windows 10 (assuming, I think we calculated, 2GB of storage).

That's the reason the paper says "mass surveillance".
You missed that point.

Why did you miss that point?
Because you didn't even click on the link.

You ridiculed that paper.
Without even reading it.

Wait, there's more. 

In your attempt to ridicule the fact that anyone in the world can track
everyone in the world using a simple Windows 10 PC and a Python script
which we worked on together late last year, but now you're trying to
ridicule the fact that there are absolutely no restrictions on that lookup. 
 *Surveilling the Masses with Wi-Fi-Based Positioning Systems*
 <https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.14975>

But wait. There's more.

Not only are there no restrictions on the lookup of your government ID
number to your GPS location, but it collects the governemtn ID number and
the GPS locations of the closes 400 people to your location at any given
time.

Yes. Not one. Not two. Not ten. Not 100. But 400 of the closest people.

Now anyone in the world can track your exact location by your government ID
without any restrictions, and, they can track the next 400 closest
government IDs and locations, forever, again, with no restrictions.

Oh, there's more. Much more.

What if you do NOT want someone to even collect your government ID and
location and that of the next 400 closest governmetn Id's and locations?

What then?

What if, oh, say, you put black tape over your government ID. 
What if you do that?

 <https://ichnaea.readthedocs.io/en/stable/api/geosubmit2.html>
    "Hidden Wifi networks must not be collected."

Will Google honor that black tape? Yes. 
Will Mozilla location services honor that black tape? Yes.

Will Apple?

When I started this Windows10/Python testing in December, we did not know
the answer to that question, officially (as I knew the answer instantly).

Why did I know the answer instantly?
Because I ran the Python code on Windows 10.

I was shocked by what I found.
But I didn't know the "official" answer from Apple until I presented my
next door neighbor with the results, and he filed the RARAR bug report.

The answer came back, so now we know the official answer. 
 <https://support.apple.com/en-ie/102515>

In summary, until people show an understanding of the problem set, they
should hold off in their attempted ridicule that your unique government
identification number is "just a number" and your unique GPS location at
any given time is "just a map".
-- 
Most people can't process even simple things that they do not understand.