Abstract: No. We show that another option, called "Always allow scanning", when activated, makes a device send Wi-Fi frames which can be used to track this device, even if the Wi-Fi switch is off. This option is not clearly described in all Android versions, and sometimes even not deactivatable. Besides, the Google Maps application prompts the user to activate this option.

We present several novel techniques to track (unassociated)
mobile devices by abusing features of the Wi-Fi standard.
This shows that using random MAC addresses, on its own,
does not guarantee privacy.

Graphical wireless scanning for Linux

howmanypeoplearearound - Count the number of people around you by monitoring wifi signals

Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a holographic imaging process that depicts the radiation of a Wi-Fi transmitter to generate three-dimensional images of the surrounding environment. Industrial facility operators could use this to track objects as they move through the production hall.

Uses WiFi signals and machine learning (sklearn's RandomForest) to predict where you are. Even works for small distances like 2-10 meters.

Your computer will known whether you are on Couch #1 or Couch #2.

This is very similar to our earlier work on the security of MAC address randomization: http://papers.mathyvanhoef.com/asiaccs2016.pdf They provide some more practical details if you want to implement our probe request fingerprint tracking mechanism. This is a passive tracking technique.

Their method to track all devices requires actively sending packets for every single MAC address that is being tracked. The (imperfect) passive tracking techniques can be used to reduce the number of MAC addresses you have to try though. Nice finding overall! And it will likely be hard to patch this issue..

Sometimes there are also silly driver bugs that allow you to get the real MAC address of a device when the user is using a spoofed MAC address :) http://www.mathyvanhoef.com/2013/11/unmasking-spoofed-mac-address.html

Pry-Fi will prevent your device from announcing all the networks it knows to the outside world, but it will still allow background scanning and automatically connecting to Wi-Fi networks. While you are not connected to a Wi-Fi network, the MAC address will constantly be pseudo-randomized, following a pattern that still makes the trackers think you are a real person, but they will not encounter your MAC address again. This will slowly poison their tracking database with useless information.

A review/rant about the progress that free software wireless drivers (especially on Linux) have made over the recent years, as well as th...

At this point, the ath9k WiFi driver fully supports these changes; the code can be found in the LEDE repository and daily snapshots. Work is progressing on the ath10k driver; it is nearly done. Other drivers have not yet been changed. Expanding the work may well require some more thought on the driver API within the kernel but, for the most part, the changes are not huge.

I'm increasingly of the view that both my time and my sanity are worth more and more as the years progress. Particularly in my independent life, it really can be that black and white - if I can't work, it costs me money. Plus, I want to be happy and