this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2026
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Privacy
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This requires ancillary hardware that isn't present on wifi routers, and then it also requires wifi devices spread around the place to provide a signal source for human bodies to distort, and then it requires significant computational hardware that also isn't present in common home wifi routers.
Not to say that the general method can't be used for basic presence detection - Philips Hue ZigBee devices can use the variations in the background signal strength of ZigBee devices they can see around them to infer that someone is in a room, so they can switch lights on/off automatically. But it requires multiple devices in a room for it to work reliably and they need calibration as well.
It was shown using a cheap ESP-32 board. Hell, someone could hack your smart TV if they really wanted to. Now, the 802.11BF Wi-Fi sensing capability is being integrated within newer routers. Your ISP can likely detect your movements and presence because the IEEE 802.11bf standard enables Wi-Fi sensing. I always question what ways we are being spied on. There is a reason the US banned all new foreign made routers.