In Other Dystopian News: WiFI Routers can now Potentially Passively ID individuals

[SorellaLaBefana]

Ordinary WiFi can now identify people with near perfect accuracy

...Summary:

Scientists in Germany have demonstrated a startling new form of surveillance: identifying people using nothing more than ordinary WiFi signals. By analyzing how radio waves bounce around a room, researchers can effectively “see” and recognize individuals — even if they are not carrying a device and even if their phone is turned off...

..."This technology turns every router into a potential means for surveillance...If you regularly pass by a café that operates a WiFi network, you could be identified there without noticing it and be recognized later -- for example by public authorities or companies"...

...intelligence agencies or cybercriminals currently have easier ways to monitor people, including hacked security cameras or internet connected doorbells. However...WiFi networks pose a unique concern because they are nearly everywhere and largely invisible...

Source: Science Daily Report of German Study

[lostincalifornia]

1. I wonder if VPN protects you from that?

[SorellaLaBefana]

2. Seems unlikely as VPN is still using WiFi signals. Source states "...

...Previous approaches often depended on channel state information (CSI), which measures how radio signals change after bouncing off walls, furniture, and people. The new technique instead takes advantage of normal communication between WiFi routers and connected devices...

[lostincalifornia]

7. Then best thing to do if you are using a government phone, and concerned about tracking

is turning off the phone except when needed to use it, and any communication on those phone should assume the conversations are being monitored.

That is interesting since VPN will definitely giving you a different IP address through DHCP, and you can even get a static IP address through VPN's such as NORD VPN. If you use a public wifi plus a VPN it would be interesting to understand how they would do this through a public router?

That being said, if big brother is comprising a list of people, they should already have that list if you have a government phone, so there is not much one can do about that.

[Ponietz]

3. No

[NutmegYankee]

4. No. It's just like visible light.

The waves reflect off of you and other surfaces in the room and can be measured to "see" you.

[lostincalifornia]

8. Thanks. Easy answer. Turn off one's government phone unless you need to use it, and

only use it in a location you are comfortable in, and assume you are being monitored.

[NutmegYankee]

10. It's not the phone.

The WIFI signal from the router radiates out as a wave - just like light from a light bulb. Just like a light can illuminate you, the signal does the same. You could have no phone on you and potentially still be tracked.

[lostincalifornia]

11. So if you go to starbucks with your phone off, how is the WIFI at starbucks going to know it

is you specifically?

[NutmegYankee]

13. It's possible with AI.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260522023127.htm

The article explains how.

[orangecrush]

5. I see a market

For Faraday masks.

[lostincalifornia]

9. Interesting. Those are widely available now. Some electric cars automatically open their

door handles when someone approaches, and some faraday case block those handles from opening, with a button emblem on the outside of the case to manually press the unlock button.

[Renew Deal]

6. Stories like this tend to be more theoretical than practical

Like the idea that data can be read by monitoring hard drive lights. Good luck with that.