A long while back now Google came out saying[0] they did use their Google Maps Street View cars to also collect wifi+location information. It wouldn't surprise me if they augmented this info with data they receive through Google services running on Android phones too.

So my bet is, yeah, they do exist and they do pretty much cover everywhere.

[0]: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/may/15/google-ad...

Google even has a geolocation API [1] where you can send the BSSID and signal strength of the access points in your range and it calculates your position.

[1]: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geolocation...

Mozilla offers a similar API. Kinda funny for a "privacy" company.

I see now, thanks.

Though I believe that if Google is the adversary, they have ways (only a guess, but some kind of correlation between GPS location on mobile while connected to Wi-Fi and http requests could be one) that make the "wardriving database" unneeded, I mean, there should be a constant updating of this database, or it would turn out pretty much obsolete soon.

The database may have originally been filled by wardriving, but it can be updated by their distributed agents (phones with location services turned on).

It’s called Wi-Fi Positioning System: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_positioning_system

There are both open and proprietary versions.

I think early iPhones used it (with cell site data too), before they had GPS. Can’t remember their name for it.

But, all big populated areas are mapped and understood.

See Hybrid Positioning too, which is combining all available data, including Wi-Fi, to aid in rapid and accurate location information: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_positioning_system

Wigle.net