Re:Tell HN: Google is correlating location data to your IP
by gerdesj on Saturday December 17, 2022 @06:50PM
(#34033511)
In a http request/response, mac address would be meta data. ARP is not a thing there. That would be an example of data snaffling.
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Re:Tell HN: Google is correlating location data to your IP
by utsuro on Saturday December 17, 2022 @07:39PM
(#34033851)
Do you have any info on this? AFAIK, MAC is only distributed in datalink layer around local connections.
I tried some quick packet sniffing browsing Google and did not see my MAC transmitted—as I’d expect (bc like you said, ARP not thing at this layer) also research on “MAC included in http metadata” turns up no results…
If you have any more info on this I’d love to learn more—as I’m puzzled to know why this would happen?
Re:Tell HN: Google is correlating location data to your IP
by md_ on Saturday December 17, 2022 @08:03PM
(#34034012)
I think the poster isn’t talking about the remote server seeing client MACs (because, as you say) but, rather, about the way mobile OSes use nearby wifi access point SSIDs to provide GPS-less geolocation. Samy Kamkar raised my awareness of this way back in 2010 or so, and this article about his DefCon talk provides a good quick explanation: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-10850875.