>> How does Crowd Detect estimate occupancy?
>> It detects the number of nearby iOS devices in a property and compares it to your defined threshold. If the count is exceeded, Minut sends an alert.
Interesting that it can only count iOS devices considering Apple is more privacy focused. What's the secret sauce that prevents Android phones being counted in the same way?
I would have thought Android's constant Wi-Fi scanning that Google uses for improving their indoor location services would be an easy give away.
Absolutely, maybe 15 years ago, and it was / is used by shops to detect recurring visitors and get a better understanding of their behavior.
It’s also why anonymization of wifi started being pushed by Apple et al, which still does provide a stable client id but that’s only being broadcast as part of the DHCP handshake, which cannot be used here.
I'm guessing it's because iPhones are easier to characterize over dozens of different android MAC address prefixes.
But with MAC address randomization, I don't recall Apple doing anything different than other vendors so not sure what they are detecting that an Android wouldn't reveal as well.
OK so Android users are safe, then. Woohoo!
e.g. if you suddenly start seeing tons of beacons above the historical maximum, that's a good indicator.
(Not trying to be "dropbox is just rsync", just commenting on the iOS only limitation)
I would have thought Android's constant Wi-Fi scanning that Google uses for improving their indoor location services would be an easy give away.
To anyone wanting to throw parties at an airbnb, switch to Android!
I imagine that would be a neater solution. if all what you need is a wifi receiver.
It’s also why anonymization of wifi started being pushed by Apple et al, which still does provide a stable client id but that’s only being broadcast as part of the DHCP handshake, which cannot be used here.
But with MAC address randomization, I don't recall Apple doing anything different than other vendors so not sure what they are detecting that an Android wouldn't reveal as well.