And you thought having to use Comcast was bad enough!
this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2026
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I had (still have) my own modem, but switched to their cheep "prepaid" Xfinity NOW service. Fast enough for my needs but I'm annoyed to learn I can only use the refurbished modem they have given me. No idea if its capable of presence monitoring but Its one of their old ones and I'm sure it already leaks metrics I'd rather not share.
Wrap it in copper and run a hard line to a second router.
OPs article links to another article at TechCrunch . That article states:
As first reported by The Verge, the new Wi-Fi Motion feature works for advanced Xfinity gateways XB7 and newer models and is opt-in, which means users can choose whether to switch on the feature in the Xfinity app.
So it seems like for now it's only this one model that can do it, if you believe them. Frankly, I wouldn't sniff that opt-in claim either because I'm fairly certain I know which orifice they pulled it out of.
If it's just a modem with no WiFi, then it's not capable of this specific thing.
I like my no BS ISP that allows me to use any retail router matching their specs. One thing I just don't have to worry about.
PSA: If you can afford your own a retail router, it’s always a better idea than using the one provided by your ISP. Make no mistake, Xfinity is absolutely collecting (and probably selling) data on the traffic of every device on your network.
I work for a different large ISP who provides modems and routers to our customers, but not this specific feature (being a bit vague because I know at one point mentioning the company’s name on social media would result in the post being reviewed by the social media team/referred to security for anything discussing internal processes, and while Lemmy probably isn’t on their radar I’d rather not risk it).
The amount of data we can see if you’re using our routers is pretty crazy, and most people have no idea. We can see exactly what you have on your network and what it’s doing. If you’re just using the modem and not the router, we have much more limited visibility. We don’t have the capacity to monitor everything everyone is doing all the time, so if you’re using your own equipment (and you’re not using our DNS service), it’s unlikely we have much data on your activity. Storage in the scale needed to store what everyone is doing gets expensive.
I’ve always used my own equipment, and I make sure everyone in my family has their own equipment as well. I would absolutely advise against using your ISP’s equipment if your goal is privacy.
I encourage everyone with the ability to do so to at least try to run their own networking, or even just periodically examine the logs. The weird things I’ve discovered about random devices on my network have made me seriously question what the fuck companies are doing.
Ubiquiti isn't perfect but they make a really good product and you don't have to connect it with a cloud
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Xfinity is absolutely collecting (and probably selling) data on the traffic of every device on your network.
They're doing that anyway via the modem. Unless you are tunnelling everything your ISP sees every byte you send.
You can also get your own modem, but that doesn’t change the fact that yes, you need to use a VPN for any external traffic you don’t want your ISP seeing.
However, ISP controlled routers provide them direct visibility into your LAN, which they otherwise wouldn’t see. This gives WAY more detailed information about you and your behavior, i.e. the original article.
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Regardless of the basic privacy invasion that we all know Comcast is doing. Buy your own cable modem and router. Comcast charges you to use theirs, so they pay for themselves in a couple years.
They've changed it since covid so now if you use their modem/router combo, you get unlimited data for free. If you don't use their modem and router, you have to pay $30/mo to remove the data caps or keep yourself under 1.2TB for the month.
They used to charge you more for unlimited data if you didn't use their modem. Renting their modem plus getting unlimited data was $30/month, but just getting unlimited data with your own modem was $50/month.
Not relevant any more though, as (at least in my area) they completely removed the data caps.
I'm so glad I have a local ISP that provides 10Gbps for cheaper than Comcast's 1Gbps.
Did they change that really recently? That was still a thing two years ago with Comcast. It is the only reason I still have their modem.
The clue is the last line of their comment where they say they have a competitor offering 10Gbps which is why Comcast removed the data cap in their area. AFAIK it's still in place where I'm at because the only other option is CenturyLink 100mbps DSL.
In my area, they removed the data caps last year, when they also rolled out the higher upload speeds (eg the gigabit plan now has 350Mbps upload speed instead of 25Mbps). I don't think they've rolled that out everywhere though.
They also have a habit of keeping people on old plans that are either slower or more expensive. If you're still using Comcast/Xfinity, check their site and see what they offer to new customers at your address. (you may need to use an internet connection other than your Comcast one, otherwise they may detect that you're an existing customer)
Good call, I will do just that until I have a better option in ISPs. Fiber has been rolling out around here, but it has been annoying build around my specific area.
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It's always been a ripoff from the start. The modem / router is far cheaper than whatever they charge you to rent it over a year. Additionally they were broadcasting public wifi hotspots from your rented modem for a while (probably still are) and now this. Having said that, walk into any random friend's house, and what will you see? A big stupid rented Comcast modem.
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Guess I'm injecting metal into my exterior walls and lining my blinds with tin foil
Yup. Turns out the tin foil brigade were right the entire fucking time.
Yep it will get used by advertisers to know how many times you get up while watching netflix, or by police to know when to conduct a raid.
The internet is increasingly a weapon
The Dark Knight surveillance tech is real life now. We're screwed.
Hopefully my personal router isn't being used by the ISP for this sort of thing. Odds are, they probably just do it, because capitalism is sucktackular by default.
I remember the scientific article of this technology as a proof of concept. Honestly it didn't take an ISP very long to ~~weaponize it~~ offer it as a service.
If Google and Apple start doing this wirh Bluetooth and WiFi on Location Services, they're not that far off the The Dark Knight sonar scene:
Except that TDK is fiction, so the billionaire has morals
That's what they are deploying. This has been possible for awhile, but has recently gotten much creepier: https://groundy.com/articles/wifi-densepose-full-body-tracking-through-walls-using-your/
I did like that old Reddit post where someone did the math on the charges he’d get for this and everything else was a rounding error compared to the hacking charges
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