Researchers warn new WiFi technology can identify your even without tracking your phone: ‘Means for surveillance’

Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have warned about a new kind of surveillance technology that can turn WiFi routers into invisible tracking tools capable of identifying people even if they are not carrying a smartphone or any connected device.

“This technology turns every router into a potential means for surveillance,” Julian Todt, one of the authors of the study, warned. “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.”