Nearby peer discovery without GPS using environmental fingerprints
5 days ago
- #geolocation
- #peer-discovery
- #privacy
- Proposes a peer discovery technique using environmental fingerprints like WiFi or Bluetooth networks.
- Uses locality-sensitive hashing and private set intersection for comparing environments without full disclosure.
- Devices create fingerprints; similar environments produce matching fingerprints.
- Technique is not limited to WiFi; works with Bluetooth beacons, cell towers, etc.
- Includes steps like MinHash for creating similarity fingerprints and LSH for collision buckets.
- Discusses potential applications like location-based gaming and conference networking.
- Features include Private Set Intersection, multiple modalities, and epoch-based expiry.
- Security considerations include spoofing risks and rendezvous server privacy issues.
- Android requires location permissions for WiFi scanning, adding UX friction.
- Built as an interesting problem solution with trade-offs in privacy and practicality.