[HenryBemis]

I have an issue, when e.g. Argos is using my phone's wifi antenna (even when I'm not connected to their network) to track where do I walk within their stores.

I do accept the fact that any cell signal provider can also track my movements since I am using their antennas.

I do perfectly understand that the STATE (law, justice, etc.) can also track my movements, and does so, using due process (I hope). But a private corporate, to be seeing where do I walk, what do I use, for me it is a problem.

In the same spirit Google was slapped by openly tracking every WiFi signal their cars intercepted. What if I don't want MY home wifi, or MY phone's wifi be a tool for THEM to make billions? Why do I need to be a product for their greed?

[grkvlt]

OK, would you have a problem with Argos using CCTV to track you via ML that identifies different individuals and records their path through the store? What about CCTV that is displayed on a monitor and a minimum wage drone views, and records people's paths through the store manually? The outcome is the same in all three cases - Argos has data about how individuals are using their property, and can use that data for whatever purpose, probably making the stores more efficient and increasing profits. You can always wear several different masks and keep changing your clothes as you walk around a shop if you're worried bout being tracked, or maybe just don't shop there?

[around_here]

The "don't go there" answers only hold true if there are actual alternatives.

It's a shit argument, and collusion to monitor and track customers is pretty much universal.

[grkvlt]

My point is that private companies are perfectly within their rights to track you on their own property, whether by computer or manually, and if you have a problem with it your only recourse is to avoid those companies. I have zero problem with a supermarket using my presence to improve the layout of their store, and to be honest, zero problem with Google tracking my phone's presence there to produce those useful 'when is this location busy' bar charts on their search results - it's helpful to me, and others, and free!

[willstrafach]

I believe Google only got in trouble for sniffing the IP traffic content inadvertantly. The probe/broadcast traffic (aka your phone saying “hello I am IDENTIFIER!”) is not unlawful to capture though.