Why does Microsoft maintain an SSID AP _optout_ out Wi-Fi sense database if they're not using it?

According to this, they're still doing it.

Really, unless a company has been convicted in court, and stands to be held for contempt of court, I doubt there is much reason to do what they said they would be doing. Google at one time, claiming they would not be evil. I don't think Microsoft ever took an evil-oath, so...

When Microsoft added News and Interests, the "weather bug" does not have a control like other applications do, and it is going to attempt to measure your location, so it can "tell you the weather". And you will notice, "News and Interests" does not turn off -- only the visual manifestation is removed. We don't know what is going on when the visuals are removed.

Paul

You're correct that Google & Mozilla & Microsoft are lying about this.

"We also tested to see if it respects an opt-out mechanism for people who do not want their home router's data getting scooped up in a broad data collection: appending "_nomap" to the network's SSID. We combined this with Microsoft's now defunct opt-out mechanism (for an alternative purpose) of appending "_optout" to the SSID. We tested each individually and both orderings of the two by inserting fake scan results, and found that Huq collected them all."

Mozilla apparently lied when they said they respect the SSID_optout also. "Mozilla's client applications do not collect information about WiFi access points whose SSID is hidden or ends with the string _nomap." But they lied. See above.

Microsoft is supposed to have stopped using the _optout_ designation.

"Microsoft has disabled its controversial Wi-Fi Sense feature, a component embedded in Windows 10 devices that shares access to WiFi networks to which you connect with any contacts you may have listed in Outlook and Skype - and, with an opt-in - your Facebook friends." But they lied also. See above.

They all lied.

You can add the SSID_optout_nomap but they won't respect it. They never had any intent to respect it.

The only thing you can do is not broadcast your home router's AP SSID.

Then the phones won't upload it unless they're set up specifically in the promiscuious mode which isn't the default except for WiGle or Netstumbler.