Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

On the contrary. Maybe if you're on a hardwired desktop, but for everything else it is incredibly accurate. You don't even need to have GPS in your device -- WiFi is plenty.

Try it: https://whereamirightnow.com/ It puts my laptop exactly where I am.



I'm on a desktop with no wi-fi card and it's within a stone's throw, how the hell...


> It puts my laptop exactly where I am.

Did you allow permission for location? Because if you did, it kind of defeats the purpose of showing that disabling this permission helps obscure your location to websites.. On my desktop, it asked for permission, and when denied it threw up its hands and said that it had no idea where I was.


Yes, of course because the comment I was replying to was about location being worthless in general.


Wired, it gives me a location 3 miles away from my house.

Smartphone, it want to use GPS. That's kind of cheating, isn't it?


Smartphone, it want to use GPS. That's kind of cheating, isn't it?

It is, but it also shows just how much information people could leak if they casually dismiss any permissions prompting with "allow" (or even worse, have such permissions be granted by default.)


Which makes the removal of the location feature (or the default off) all the more better.


The OP said wifi w/o GPS. Give that a shot maybe?


Yeah, I tried that, but the mobile version of website refuses to proceed without GPS.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: