if you are using a mobile hotspot and the mobile hotspot you are connected to is using data can the history you browse on the device that is using the hotspot be seen by the device that is the mobile hotspot?
-
4very simply, yes – schroeder Mar 08 '19 at 22:05
-
I think your question could be more simply rephrased: do hotspots log traffic? – schroeder Mar 08 '19 at 22:05
-
do they????????? – daddy Mar 08 '19 at 22:06
-
2Possible duplicate of https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/37597/how-to-use-public-wifi-safely – Polynomial Mar 08 '19 at 22:13
-
@daddy I'm not sure why you are surprised by an answer of 'yes' when you asked a yes or no question. – schroeder Mar 08 '19 at 22:22
1 Answers
If you're connecting to pages over HTTPS, they can only see the domains of what you visit. So if you're on https://www.example.com/cats
, they will know you're on example.com, but not that you're on the cats section.
However, if you're only using HTTP to connect (so http://www.example.com/cats/Oskar
), they can know you're looking at the cat Oskar, as well as any content transferred if they decided to capture it.
Of course, HTTPS isn't necessarily 100% protected, end of story, since it could be poorly configured on the website with weak algorithms or misconfigured.
Now, I don't believe your standard mobile hotspot has traffic logging, but that doesn't mean they can't! If you're concerned about a non-technical person snooping, you're probably fine, but it's totally possible for someone with know-how. When in doubt, browse with caution.
- 494
- 3
- 13