You can’t steal WiFi
Every time the legality/morality of using open wireless comes up, we are treated to yet another uninformed debate. People get worked up that someone might be “stealing” WiFi by accessing it without authorization but the analogies they use to explain why this is wrong reveal a stunning ignorance about how WiFi works. [1]
These are all actual analogies I have seen used to argue that using WiFi without express permission is akin to stealing:
- If you left your door unlocked, does that give me authorization to enter?
- If you left your bicycle in the driveway, am I authorized to ride it?
- If you don’t have a gate on your garden, am I authorized to wander around it?
- If you leave a hose on, does that authorize me to drink the water?
Those analogies suck. WiFi is nothing like a door, or a garden, or a hose, or a bicycle. As a public service, let’s look at the basics of open WiFi:
- The router actively advertises the open connection
- The user’s computer asks to use the connection, and the router authorizes the request.
The conversation goes something like this:
Router: Hey, free Internet over here! Come and get it!
Computer: Hey, can I have a connection?
Router: Sure, here you go.
You want a good analogy for using open WiFI? Open WiFi is like using a web site. Do I have to call up Google and ask permission [2] before I do a search? No, because behind the scenes my computer is asking for me:
Computer: Hey google.com, can I have a list of pages about “tour de france?”
Google’s web server: Sure, here it is
My computer asks Google for a service, their server grants the request. That’s no different from using open WiFi: my computer asks your wireless router for a connection, and your router grants it. [3]
You still want to use a hose analogy? At least keep it accurate:
I stand on the corner with a hose yelling “Hey, free water! Come and get it!” A man walks up and asks “Can I have a drink?” I give him one. Did he steal the water?
You can’t steal WiFi.
[1] I only hope the people who finally decide on the legality of using open WiFi understand the technology. The recent “series of tubes” debacle doesn’t raise my confidence.
[2] At least I know who runs google.com. My computer sees 6 routers from my living room. If I wished to seek permission, which neighbors would I ask?
[3] Some argue that Google intends for their servers to be public, while ignorant owners of open WiFi do not. This is likely true, but the situation is really no different from if you posted a photo online without realizing it was publicly available. Would it be wrong for me to view the photo? No.