TfL is going to track all London Underground users using Wi-Fi

guest · May 22, 2019

TfL is going to track all London Underground users using Wi-Fi
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May 22, 2019
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/london-underground-wifi-tracking

In the autumn of 2016, Transport for London (TfL) started tracking its passengers. A month long trial at 54 stations used Wi-Fi signals from phones and other devices to harvest depersonalised data about where, when and how people were using the tube.

The system will use Wi-Fi beacons that are already present in 260 TfL-managed tube stations. As well as serving up internet access, the beacons will log the unique hardware addresses – or MAC addresses – of every device they sniff out, whether those devices are connected to Wi-Fi or not.
The trial data contained some intriguing insights, including the convoluted paths that some customers take.

The spectre of advertising following you to work is a grim one, and there are obvious privacy concerns with this system. TfL is keen to stress that all data is ‘depersonalised,’ [...]
Signs will be placed around the network, similar to those for CCTV, warning passengers that their device may be being tracked.
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For the full roll out, hashing has been replaced with a system of tokenisation – fully replacing the MAC address with an identifier that cannot be tied back to any personal information. TfL says this is a “more sophisticated mechanism” [...]
Wi-Fi tracking clearly has benefits. The tube is already maxed out in many places, and even Crossrail is expected to be at full capacity from day one (whenever that is), so using data to optimise journeys and inform planning could make a real difference.
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Beyonder · May 22, 2019

How does this work, seeing as both Android and iOS randomize MAC addresses?

guest · Jul 8, 2019

TfL launches wireless device tracking to gather Tube data
July 8, 2019
https://www.computerweekly.com/news...-wireless-device-tracking-to-gather-Tube-data

Transport for London (TfL) has officially turned on wireless tracking of customer devices moving across the London Underground system as it sets out to gather data on how the public moves around the city. It hopes this will bring it new levels of insight into how people use the Tube, helping it to address issues such as overcrowding at peak times.

The data is also likely to be used to enhance TfL’s commercial revenues. By gaining a better understanding of passenger flows, the organisation will be able to “highlight the effectiveness and accountability of its advertising estate based on actual customer volumes”, meaning it can charge advertisers more for plum locations.

An ICO spokesperson told Computer Weekly: “Organisations processing people’s Wi-Fi data must inform them clearly that they are doing this. They must also avoid excessive data collection and take steps to reduce the risk of identifying the people whose data they have collected. We have discussed how the law around protecting personal data relates to Wi-Fi location analytics with Transport for London.”
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To this end, TfL has undertaken to collect only the MAC address, which is then hashed twice, once with a single value and the second time with a unique random value, giving continuity to the data without needing to record the MAC address itself. It will not collect web browsing or cookie data.
The depersonalised, or pseudonynmised, data will then be encrypted in order to prevent identification of the original MAC address and device.

TfL said it recognised that there might be scenarios where the police or intelligence services might ask for access to the data it holds [...] However, it noted, because of the hashing processes, “we would only be able to disclose pseudonymised data”.
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TfL: Wi-Fi data collection

This page explains how and why TfL collects Wi-Fi connection data from mobile devices at London Underground stations
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TfL is going to track all London Underground users using Wi-Fi

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