On: Show HN: Browser extension that spoofs your location data to match your VPN

[WithinReason]

Of course, but how does it know? Where is the information from?

[runlevel1 → WithinReason]

I'm assuming you mean on devices without a GPS.

There are services that wardrive around mapping locations of WiFi access points. Your laptop periodically will phone home with your nearby Wi-Fi MAC addresses (BSSIDs) to ask where they were detected.

Here's one such service: https://www.skyhook.com/wifi-location-solutions

[runlevel1 → runlevel1]

By the way, if you've ever noticed a brief packet drop or latency spike (usually a few 100s of ms) while pinging a server from your Mac, it might be because your device is doing this.

When Location Services is on (which it is by default), macOS will periodically switch your wireless card to monitor mode to find those nearby SSIDs. That briefly interrupts normal network traffic.

IIRC, it does this more often when Find My.app is turned on.

You can disable Location Services in: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Location Services