Best privacy practice for choosing hotspot name (SSID) when using Graphene

carnivoredrew

I use my Graphene phone as a hotspot because I own multiple devices.

I get really confused when it comes to choosing hostspot name (SSID). Basically, I can think of 3 options:

Do nothing and use the default SSID (Pixel_*)
Use a password manager to generate a few random phrases and use it as the SSID
Use a common hotspot name as SSID (see https://wigle.net/stats#ssidstats)

(1) blend into other Pixel users but leak the fact that you are using Pixel
(2) leak nothing about the model of the device but the unique name is more fingerprintable
(3) blend into the crowd but SSID collision could have security implications for WPA2 (?)

Which of the 3 options do you think is less evil from a privacy perspective?

horde

carnivoredrew

option 3, but can u elaborate on "SSID collision could have security implications for WPA2 " ?

RubenTortillaDip

carnivoredrew what could help you with your decision is to check what if your phone send's its manufacturer info with the traffic.
What I mean with that is the following:
When I have a router from brand "ABC"
Now I want to change the SSID to something else, because if the name "ABC" is in the SSID, than a hacker could have a "hack for the models of the brand "ABC".
I think till here we are in the same page.
So I change the SSID from " ABC" to "XYZ".
But when I now check wireguard, I see that my router with the SSID "XYZ" sends the information that it is a "ABC" router anyways.
So a Hacker would see that in no time and would come to the conclusion that the owner of this network is interesting.
Because a hacker uses tools that can see more information on a network than the "available wifi's" when you seek for a WiFi on your phone or laptop.
So you have to check that before you change the SSID. In the case you see the original manufacturer name on the right next to the packages in wireguard, it makes no sense to change the SSID to the name of another manufacturer.

My English is not that good so I needed to many words to describe a little peace on information so that is that.

KitsuneNoBaka

My hotspot is named "localhost" 😁

DeletedUser143

KitsuneNoBaka mine "not_a_NSA_honeypot"

andrej567

I am using neighbor's name or a generic one - Nokia3310_JSmith

Plobberfroth

NotaHotspot_nnnn nnnn is a 4 digit number

NetRunner88

RubenTortillaDip

I don't understand..
Are you talking about bssid ?

andzhi4

If memory serves, a WiFi access point can still leak original vendor even when SSID/BSSID are altered. It sends beacon packet that may contain vendor specific information and hardware capabilities of the device.
I think, if you concerned, a good alternative would be using Mudi travel router with Blue Merle firmware to regularly purge and replace IMEI, IMSI, BSSID, SSID. Not sure about beacon packets though, might still leak something. On the other hand, it's a travel router, i.e. a moving target, so not likely to be observed by someone for a long time.

On a different note, you could also consider adding "_nomap" suffix to your SSID if you prefer to remove it from google WiFi location data collection: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/1725632?hl=en#zippy=
Apple and Mozilla should respect this as well