Big router is watching you: WiFi could secretly track you even if you leave your phone at home

Nypost · Aug 22, 2026 · 333 words · By Jeanne Erickson

Surveillance Capitalism Digital Privacy Technological risk

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Generate a natural audio summary of this story

Daily briefing

What to know about Surveillance Capitalism

Big router is watching you: WiFi could secretly track you even if you leave your phone at home See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 5

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Big router is watching you: WiFi could secretly track you even if you leave your phone at home See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google Think ditching your cellphone and laptop means nobody can track you?

Common ground

Scientists have discovered a chilling way ordinary WiFi networks could work together to identify people with near-perfect accuracy — even when they aren’t carrying a phone, smartwatch, Fitbit, laptop or any other connected device, according to Science Daily.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Surveillance Capitalism story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Researchers found that unencrypted signals routinely exchanged between WiFi devices and routers can be used to create radio-based images — akin to a camera — of people and recognize them within seconds?
How does this story connect Surveillance Capitalism with Digital Privacy over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/22/world-news/wifi-could-secretly-track-you-even-if-y…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 80% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 5 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3

verified Verified 1

info Single Source 1

check_circle

Claim 1: “Researchers found that unencrypted signals routinely exchanged between WiFi devices and routers can be used to create radio-based images — akin to a camera — of people and recognize them within seconds.”

CORROBORATED

The claim that unencrypted signals can be used to create radio-based images to recognize people within seconds is reported by ScienceDaily and Cybernews, citing a study from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Researchers showed that unencrypted signals routinely exchanged between WiFi devices and routers can be used to create radio-based images of people and recognize them within seconds.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260811052857.h…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Researchers say unencrypted WiFi signals can identify people without cameras or special sensors. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology study used WiFi feedback data to create radio-based images and re…
https://cybernews.com/tech/wifi-surveillance-beamforming/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Science Daily reports: Researchers showed that unencrypted signals routinely exchanged between WiFi devices and routers can be used to create radio-based images of people and recognize them within sec…
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/26/08/16/057254/researcher…

verified

Claim 2: “professsor Thorsten Strufe from Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology”

VERIFIED

Thorsten Strufe's position as a professor at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is confirmed by multiple authoritative sources, including Google Scholar, LinkedIn, and PeerJ.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Thorsten Strufe. Professor of Privacy and Security, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; Adjunct Professor TU Dresden. Verified email at kit.edu - Homepage.
https://scholar.google.ru/citations?user=-2ilOF4AAAAJ&hl=en

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Thorsten Strufe. LinkedIn. Website. Thorsten Strufe is professor of IT Security at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT/KASTEL), and adjunct professor for Privacy and Network Security at TU Dresden.
https://www.cpdpconferences.org/persons/thorsten-strufe-karl…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Thorsten Strufe is a PeerJ user. Bio: Thorsten Strufe is professor for IT Security at KIT, Karlsruhe, and Adjunct Professor of Privacy and Network Security at Technische Universität Dresden.
https://peerj.com/strufe/

check_circle

Claim 3: “Connected devices routinely send information back to routers to optimize wireless communications. Those signals, known as beamforming feedback information, are transmitted without encryption, researchers found.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (HackYourMom and other web results) specifically identify 'Beamforming Feedback Information' (BFI) as the unencrypted data stream used by devices to optimize communication with routers.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Wi-Fi-connected devices regularly send data to routers to optimize communication. This information, known as Beamforming Feedback Information (BFI), is transmitted without encryption.
https://hackyourmom.com/en/novyny/wifi-mozhe-rozpiznavaty-ly…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — To do this efficiently, every connected device sends back "beamforming feedback information" (BFI): data about how the radio signals are propagating through the space around it.
https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/wifi-surveillance-ident…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Their attack, BFId, targets beamforming feedback information (BFI), a stream of data that WiFi devices send back to the router to report how they are currently receiving the signal so the router can s…
https://www.gblock.app/articles/wifi-signal-person-identific…

check_circle

Claim 4: “Scientists have discovered a chilling way ordinary WiFi networks could work together to identify people with near-perfect accuracy — even when they aren’t carrying a phone, smartwatch, Fitbit, laptop or any other connected device, according to Science Daily.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources, including ScienceDaily and other tech news reports, confirm that researchers have developed a method to identify individuals using WiFi signals without the need for the person to carry a connected device.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Researchers Can Now Identify Individuals Via Wi-Fi Signals.While researchers have managed to use Wi-Fi to detect the presence of people in the past, recent advances now allow them to identify specific…
https://www.electropages.com/blog/2026/06/researchers-can-no…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Unlike traditional identification methods, this approach does not require a person to carry a smartphone, tablet, or any other connected device. Instead, it relies on the way WiFi devices constantly c…
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/WIFI-TECH-CAN-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Researchers have shown that standard WiFi routers can identify people by analyzing how radio waves reflect off their bodies. Credit: AI/ScienceDaily.com. Researchers in Germany are warning that ordina…
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260522023127.h…

info

Claim 5: “The team tested the technique in a study of 197 participants and said its system was able to infer their identities with almost 100% accuracy.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general study is mentioned in the evidence for claims 0, 1, and 2, the specific detail regarding '197 participants' and 'almost 100% accuracy' appears only in the ScienceDaily report. The other provided evidence for this specific claim (Wikipedia and Reddit) is completely irrelevant to the topic.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of WFC compatible games on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi handheld game consoles. These games are playable online out of the box, as long as the system is in range of a properly-confi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_DS_Wi-Fi_Conn…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Wireless LAN (WLAN) channels are frequently accessed using IEEE 802.11 protocols. The 802.11 standard provides several radio frequency bands for use in Wi-Fi communications, each divided into a multit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — IEEE 802.11ax-2021 or 802.11ax, is an IEEE standard from the Wi-Fi Alliance, for wireless networks (WLANs). The standard is marketed as Wi-Fi 6. It operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, with an ext…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_6

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.