Summary
Please add support for configurable position ambiguity when broadcasting node locations. Rather than always advertising an exact GPS coordinate, allow users to intentionally reduce the precision of their reported location.
This would function similarly to APRS position ambiguity, where a user can choose to share only an approximate location instead of an exact one.
Motivation
Many MeshCore users are operating from their homes or other private locations. While location sharing is extremely valuable for understanding network topology and locating nearby nodes, some users may choose not to share their position because it reveals the exact location of their residence or infrastructure.
Providing configurable position ambiguity would allow more users to participate in location sharing while maintaining an acceptable level of privacy.
Proposed Implementation
Add a configurable “Location Precision” setting, for example:
- Exact
- 100 meters
- 250 meters
- 500 meters
- 1 kilometer
- 5 kilometers
- Hidden (no location broadcast)
The implementation could be accomplished in several ways:
- Round latitude/longitude to the selected precision.
- Advertise the center of the selected grid square.
- Apply a stable pseudorandom offset that remains constant until the user changes it.
The final option may provide the best privacy, since repeated advertisements would not average back to the user’s true position.
Benefits
- Encourages more users to enable location sharing.
- Protects the privacy of home stations.
- Makes fixed infrastructure nodes less likely to reveal an exact address.
- Maintains the usefulness of network maps and nearby-node discovery.
- Provides functionality familiar to the amateur radio community through APRS position ambiguity.
Use Cases
- Home stations that wish to appear within approximately half a mile of their actual location.
- Emergency communications groups that want members to know the general operating area without revealing exact positions.
- Publicly accessible repeaters or relay nodes where exact coordinates are unnecessary.
- Mobile users who wish to indicate their general area while preserving personal privacy.
Additional Considerations
If possible, it would also be useful to allow users to choose whether this ambiguity applies only to periodic advertisements or to all location messages sent by the node.
This feature would make MeshCore more attractive to privacy-conscious users while preserving the collaborative value of location sharing.
Summary
Please add support for configurable position ambiguity when broadcasting node locations. Rather than always advertising an exact GPS coordinate, allow users to intentionally reduce the precision of their reported location.
This would function similarly to APRS position ambiguity, where a user can choose to share only an approximate location instead of an exact one.
Motivation
Many MeshCore users are operating from their homes or other private locations. While location sharing is extremely valuable for understanding network topology and locating nearby nodes, some users may choose not to share their position because it reveals the exact location of their residence or infrastructure.
Providing configurable position ambiguity would allow more users to participate in location sharing while maintaining an acceptable level of privacy.
Proposed Implementation
Add a configurable “Location Precision” setting, for example:
The implementation could be accomplished in several ways:
The final option may provide the best privacy, since repeated advertisements would not average back to the user’s true position.
Benefits
Use Cases
Additional Considerations
If possible, it would also be useful to allow users to choose whether this ambiguity applies only to periodic advertisements or to all location messages sent by the node.
This feature would make MeshCore more attractive to privacy-conscious users while preserving the collaborative value of location sharing.