That’s the unique alphanumeric ID that devices broadcast when Wi-Fi is switched on. What distinguishes location-based marketing hotspot providers like Zenreach and Euclid is that the personal information you enter in the captive portal-like your email address, phone number, or social media profile-can be linked to your laptop or smartphone’s Media Access Control (MAC) address. EuclidĮuclid’s captive portal notes they track location. Euclid is more explicit, saying, “you agree to provide this device’s location” next to where you can tick a box to consent. In the case of Zenreach, “by clicking ‘go online,’ you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy,” allowing them to track your location over time.
EuclidĮuclid tells businesses the location a customer visits the most and how likely they are to visit again.Īccording to Zenreach’s privacy policy, “Later, when the user’s device returns to this client location or enters the Wi-Fi range of another Zenreach router (of any Zenreach client), we automatically recognize the device and record the visit in our record for that device.” These networks, Zenreach and Euclid, log the locations of millions of smartphone and laptop owners who pass within range of their hotspots-even when these people don’t sign on. We reached out to all of the Wi-Fi companies, but only two with major operations in the United States responded to questions about tracking hotspot users. Some phrases that tip off this practice are “location data,” “location history,” “your location,” “device identifiers,” and “MAC address” (more on this later). PCWorld reviewed the privacy policies of a dozen Wi-Fi hotspot providers and found that they commonly ask users to agree to location tracking when they sign on.
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