[webkit-dev] Network Information API reboot: request for early feedback

[Ryosuke Niwa]

I don't think exposing the information about whether the connection is
metered or not is acceptable from the privacy standpoint. Based on the IP
address of a user & this metered status, a website may even be able to tell
what kind of carrier plan a given user is in.

- R. Niwa

On Fri, Aug 20, 2021 at 7:51 AM Thomas Steiner via webkit-dev <
webkit-dev at lists.webkit.org> wrote:

> Hey WebKit folks,
>
> I have rebooted the Network Information API recently. This is all in a
> relatively early stage, but I thought now would be a good time to get your
> feedback on the proposal:
>
> - Motivational doc:
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RDA23zSNdDuIcxZTX9Xo3zlD2fxf8dZg9-e0YaJQv0g/edit?usp=sharing
> - Explainer: https://github.com/tomayac/netinfo/blob/relaunch/README.md
> - Spec draft: https://ghcdn.rawgit.org/tomayac/netinfo/relaunch/index.html
>
> Here is the short version:
>
> ```js
> // Is the current network a metered network according to the OS-level
> setting
> // in, e.g., Android or Windows, i.e., _without_ the UA guesstimating it.
> The UA
> // may provide its own (override) setting, though:
> navigator.connection.metered;
> // false
>
> // What is the sustained connection speed, as measured on the OS-level (à
> la
> // `nettop`) for a sliding window and bucketed in buckets of exponentially
> // growing size in bit per second, e.g., 25,000,000 (25 Mbit/s), 50,000,000
> // (50 Mbit/s). It's fine to report `Infinity` if the user agent doesn't
> want to
> // reveal more, or if the sustained speed isn't known yet.
> navigator.connection.metered;
> // 50000000
>
> // Changes to either of the attributes are exposed via an event:
> navigator.connection.addEventListener("change", (event) => {
>   console.log(event);
> });
> ```
>
> Each of the attributes is accompanied by a client hint header that
> reflects the attribute:
>
> ```bash
> Sec-CH-Metered-Connection: 1
> Sec-CH-Sustained-Speed: 50000000
> ```
>
> Thanks in advance for your thoughts, here, or in the motivational document.
>
> Cheers,
> Tom
> _______________________________________________
> webkit-dev mailing list
> webkit-dev at lists.webkit.org
> https://lists.webkit.org/mailman/listinfo/webkit-dev
>
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