Microsoft Releases Wi-Fi Data Collection Source Code

In a strange bit of timing, Microsoft published what it calls “relevant portions” of the source code it uses for WiFi data collection in Windows Phone 7 in the hope of quieting critics concerned about privacy intrusion. The posting came last Friday, right before a three-day holiday weekend when a lot of people were already playing hooky from work.

Microsoft did this “to provide those interested an opportunity to review the code we use for collection of such information,” said Reid Kuhn, partner group program manager for Microsoft’s Windows Phone Engineering Team, in a blog post.

But what exactly is Microsoft collecting and why? The code is used in cars that do what Microsoft calls “managed driving.” They drive around to collect cellular tower, WiFi, and GPS data, to build a database for location-based services for Windows Phone and eventually Bing users, Microsoft says.

Microsoft came under fire when this “managed driving” came to light a few months ago. Obviously, both Apple and Google have taken heat for the ways they’ve been collecting location data. Google maintains its service is opt-in and collection was accidental and Apple updated the iPhone’s operating system, iOS, to address concerns over tracking the location of the device. Kuhn explains:

“The code, developed by the Windows Phone Engineering team, uses publicly documented interfaces for accessing cell tower, Wi-Fi data access point and GPS data. In addition to collecting and uploading GPS, Wi-Fi and cell data, it also includes other management and administrative functions related to provisioning, self-upgrade, self-recovery and diagnostics.”

Clearly, Microsoft hopes that by showing the source code, it will avoid a public outcry. On the other hand, what is it collecting and what privacy violations could this potentially lead to. It’s dangerous to get into speculating as to motivations, but again, I’ll note that the code came out during a holiday weekend and this is traditionally a time when people take vacations. But I’ll reserve judgment until the interested parties dig through the code and declare how much is disclosed and how much it helps.

Clearly Microsoft wants to appear more transparent in its data collection practices. Obviously “trust us” wasn’t working. Or maybe it was trying to head off Congress, especially after seeing Minnesota Senator Al Franken make Google and Apple squirm.

It’s important to note that while the code is being released for review, it is not being released under an open source license for reuse. That’s another issue that could cause eyebrows to raise. It also begs the question of what other products will be “open sourced” in this limited way to put people’s minds at ease. It certainly validates the argument that most if not all open source proponents have had over the years; that the only way to verify policy is to see the code.

It certainly can’t hurt to get the heat off Microsoft. But let’s wait and see what happens when the code jockeys pick through the code and determine its relative value. Here’s the link where you can view the source code.

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