[mikem170]

I read up on this [0]. It looks like it helps to have a newer phone, and even then this feature is inconsistent across models, with some phones spewing non-random frames even when wifi is off and/or depending on how location services is configured. Although I would assume the feature will continue to be better implemented as time goes on, it doesn't look like something that is protecting most people yet.

I read a bit about bluetooth tracking [1]. Apple and Google both apparently support this kind of tracking via apps, and a lot of apps use toolkits made by advertisers that do this. Apple has been selling their iBeacon devices that can be located in stores to track people. Here's [2] something about google tracking via bluetooth even when bluetooth is turned off.

[0] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/18/wifi_tracking_failure...

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/14/opinion/bluet...

[2] https://qz.com/1169760/phone-data/