Microsoft really hasn’t done itself any favors this time. The news has hit the Interwebs that Microsoft has collected the locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and access points all over planet earth. They then apparently make this data publicly available through Live.com with little regard to the privacy concerns. How does that compare with others who collect this sort of data?:
Unlike Google and Skyhook Wireless, which have compiled similar lists of these unique Wi-Fi addresses, Microsoft has not taken any measures to curb access to its database. Google tightened controls last month in response to a June 15 CNET article, and Skyhook uses a limited form of geolocation to protect privacy.
Lovely. It makes me loathe Microsoft even more than I already do. How did Microsoft get this data?:
Microsoft assembled the database through crowdsourced data gathering from Windows Phone 7 devices and through what it calls “managed driving” by Street View-like vehicles that record Wi-Fi signals accessible from public roads. Its Web interface is, the company says, intended to provide “search results, weather, movie times, maps and directions based on a device’s current location.”
Reid Kuhn, a program manger with Microsoft’s Windows Phone Engineering Team, sent CNET this statement: “To provide location-based services, Microsoft collects publicly broadcast cell tower IDs and MAC addresses of Wi-Fi access points via both user devices and managed driving. If a user chooses to use their smartphone or mobile device as a Wi-Fi access point, their MAC address may also be included as a part of our service. However, since mobile devices typically move from one place to another they are not helpful in providing location. Once we determine that a device is not in a fixed location, we remove it from our list of active MAC addresses.”
Microsoft did not, however, respond to questions whether its database includes only Wi-Fi devices acting as access points, or whether client devices using the networks have been swept in as well–something that Google did with its Street View cars. A May blog post touts “Transparency About Microsoft’s Practices,” but doesn’t provide details.