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WiGLE, or (Wireless Geographic Logging Engine), is a website for collecting information about the different wireless hotspots around the world. Users can register on the website and upload hotspot data like GPS coordinates, SSID, MAC address and the encryption type used on the hotspots discovered.
By obtaining information about the encryption of the different hotspots, WiGLE tries to create an awareness of the need for security by running a wireless network.
The first recorded hotspot on WiGLE was uploaded in September 2001. By August 2013, WiGLE counted over 107 million recorded WiFi networks in its database, whereof 105 million was recorded with GPS coordinates and over 2.0 billion unique recorded observations.
Licensing
Although the apps used to collect information are open sourced, the database itself is accessed and distributed under a freeware proprietary license. Commercial use of parts of the data may be bought. The Android app to collect Wi-Fi hotspots and their geographic correspondent information is available under a 3-clause BSD license.