Comment by tskulbru
7 days ago
> I believe shopping malls often use such signals (wifi, bluetooth) to track what your travel pattern through the mall is. They know what section of the store you spend most of your time in and what storefronts you stall at.
Yes, I remember Cisco had a product like this all the way back in 2011. They could pinpoint a customer to an exact position inside a store using triangulation, they would know which shelf you spent time in front of etc. In the 15 years since then, I expect the technology is much scarier and intrusive.
iBeacon. They know what shelf you're standing in front of. What products you touch and read.
Ever been in an Apple store? Look up. In the dark voids between the edge-to-edge backlit ceiling. There are secrets there. Watching you.
Not what iBeacon does but an entertainingly dramatic description nonetheless.
The only step missing from their description is having the app- or company- specific app installed. For Apple, that is the Apple Store app which everyone has. If you have BT enabled, it can detect the iBeacon and Apple Store can send that back for tracking.
Wrong.
"products visitors pick up" [1]
[1] https://itechcraft.com/blog/ibeacon-for-retail-store/
Macys pioneered it before there even were Apple Stores. Back when most people didn't even know their phones had Bluetooth.
Macy's has Santa clause since 1947 because that is when Miracle on 24th Street came out. And he even knows when you are sleeping.