XPost: misc.phone.mobile.iphone   
   From: marianjones@helpfulpeople.com   
      
   Alan Browne wrote:   
   >> Alan Browne wrote:   
   >>> Where a GPS position in Lat/Long (base 10 real*) is concerned,   
   >>> anything beyond the 5th dp is noise in almost all cases including SBAS   
   >>> aided.**   
   >>   
   >> What we have to ask ourselves then is why Apple stores them this way?   
   >>   
   >>    BSSID: 8c:85:80:d1:be:37   
   >>    Latitude: 32.45985031   
   >>    Longitude: -93.81759643000001   
   >>    BSSID: 8e:76:3f:f8:5d:cd   
   >>    Latitude: 32.4594841   
   >>    Longitude: -93.8175888   
   >   
   > This isn't esp. obscene.  A little overkill (2 or 3 dp's)   
   >   
   >>   
   >>    BSSID: 92:76:3f:f8:5d:cd   
   >>    Latitude: 32.4594841   
   >>    Longitude: -93.81756591   
   >>   
   >>    BSSID: 92:95:51:b5:b6:ae   
   >>    Latitude: 32.45910644   
   >>    Longitude: -93.81759643000001   
   >   
   > That trailing "1" seems to be a conversion artifact from a   
   > multiplication somewhere - sourced as 64b integer and stored as 64b   
   > float (probably).   
   >   
   >   
   >>   
   >> Does anyone have any idea why the highly insecure Apple WPS database   
   >> contains GPS entries to this illogically numerous set of decimal places?   
   >   
   > "illogical"?  Not at all.  Nobody got fired or crashed a Mars lander for   
   > excessive resolution.  The reverse case is a different matter.   
      
   I appreciate the technical explanation. You and others clearly understand   
   the GPS math at a deeper level than I do, and I am not disputing the   
   precision itself.   
      
   My concern is about privacy and the fact that my access points exist in the   
   Apple WPS database in the first place, not the number of decimal places   
   they use.   
      
   That is why I updated the script to pull the raw values exactly as they   
   appear in the Apple WPS database. The numbers themselves are less important   
   to me than the fact that the system allows this kind of tracking at all.   
      
   I'm only responding here because you (and others) brought up the decimal   
   places, which I wanted to faithfully respond to, since they're in the   
   original database, but my script converted them to human-readable form.   
      
   I am focusing mostly on the fact that I'm in Apple's WPS database even   
   though I opted out as per Apple's published instructions, because privacy   
   is the part that affects users directly. Not so much millimeter accuracy.   
      
   However, I agreed with you on the decimal places, even as I didn't (and   
   still do not) completely understand why they are what they are in Apple's   
   WPS database.   
      
   Hence, to provide you (and everyone) more completely information about what   
   is actually stored in Apple's WPS database, I modified the script for you.   
      
   What I did was take your input to heart by modifying the python script   
   (which I posted previously) to get EXACTLY what's in the Apple WPS db.   
      
      Enter the BSSID (or q to quit): 00:18:f8:c1:4a:65   
      -----------------------------------------------   
      === Lookup started at Sat 12/20/2025  4:18:02.21 ===   
      BSSID: 00:18:f8:c1:4a:65   
      
      Searching for location of bssid: 00:18:f8:c1:4a:65   
      
      BSSID: 00:18:f8:c1:4a:65   
      Raw latitude integer: 3245990371   
      Raw longitude integer: -9381384277   
      Latitude (degrees): 32.459904   
      Longitude (degrees): -93.813843   
      
      BSSID: 02:aa:a0:e3:5f:38   
      Raw latitude integer: 3245890808   
      Raw longitude integer: -9381494903   
      Latitude (degrees): 32.458908   
      Longitude (degrees): -93.814949   
      
      BSSID: 44:1c:12:99:23:58   
      Raw latitude integer: 3245909881   
      Raw longitude integer: -9381492614   
      Latitude (degrees): 32.459099   
      Longitude (degrees): -93.814926   
       ... and so on ...   
      
   As far as I'm aware, that's the number of INTEGER digits Apple uses in   
   their highly insecure WPS database to report on the location of my APs.   
      
   I wonder if it scares anyone on this newsgroup that I, a nobody, can   
   collect all 2 billion of Apple's WPS datapoints, using a FOSS script?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)