Microsoft releases Wi-Fi data collection software source code
Microsoft has published "relevant portions" of the source code from its Wi-Fi data collection software so that the public can examine it for any privacy concerns. According to Reid Kuhn, Partner Group Program Manager for Microsoft's Windows Phone Engineering Team, this was done to "provide even more transparency" about how the company gathers information through "managed driving", in which Microsoft uses vehicles equipped with mobile phones to gather available data about Wi-Fi access points and cell tower locations.
The managed driving data collection software is used to provide data for a number of location-based services, including services for Windows Phone 7 and Bing. In a post on Microsoft TechNet Blogs, Kuhn says that "the mobile phones we use for these surveys are only capable of observing the same data points about Wi-Fi access points that any phone, computer or other device connecting to Wi-Fi access points can observe."
