but hopefully that info is only broadcast when pairing (and I’m fine with that since it’s opt-in).
Even if it's not, it's gonna be at least roughly derivable from the OUI, given that it broadcasts the MAC address.
That could make me a target for theft if someone scans for what devices I have.
Yeah, that's actually an insightful point that I hadn't thought of.
Especially if you throw a directional antenna on, can basically drive down a street mapping where all the valuable Bluetooth-enabled electronic devices are.
How often do you need that though?
I mean, I have benefited from it, though for most of what I do, the ability to reliably get a fix anywhere is the biggest draw, with rapid acquisition a second and the accuracy probably a third in terms of benefit. That doesn't mean that I want the privacy tradeoffs that exist today, just that I'd like to be able to have something better than un-augmented GPS.
A GPS fix takes a while (like, can be tens of seconds) to acquire. If I'm driving and suddenly wonder whether I've missed my destination, sometimes I'll want to check; I'd rather not wait 30 seconds for the mapping application to know where I am so that it can start routing.
Some places -- cities with tall buildings are a particularly common and unfortunate example -- can make it hard to get a GPS fix, and when that fix is acquired, the accuracy can be degraded by reflections.
I generally haven't had a lot of luck with GPS fixes internal to offices last I tried. I mean, a lot of people do spend time in an office or a store, and the ability to just readily pull a smartphone out and access location is pretty handy. Another handy example is routing someone around an airport, even though they're inside the terminal.
You just aren't going to get a GPS fix at all some places, like underground. That's less of an issue for me in particular, but I'd imagine that it'd be nice for someone who works in a basement level of an office or store to be able to use location data. Not common enough for me to worry, but when I'm driving through a tunnel, it'd be nice to still have navigation working.
Some applications, like augmented reality -- and yeah, I know, we haven't really had it take off, but I'd expect it to do so -- really do legitimately-need fairly-accurate location data.
The more-accurate a fix -- and the more software can rely on a fix being accurate -- the better routing is. I'd like my navigation software to quickly know that I took the wrong offramp or the like.
I keep Bluetooth off unless I’m actively using a Bluetooth device,
That does require one to manually fiddle with it, but even aside from that, Bluetooth devices are really proliferating. Right now, within two feet of me, I've got a smart phone, tablet, laptop, and pair of earbuds that use Bluetooth. I mean, in a public area, if I pull out my phone and do a query for nearby devices, I see a lot of Bluetooth devices these days. I mean, it's hard to even get a smartphone any more with a 1/8" TRS audio interface (though I guess one could plug in a USB-C adapter); it's just kind of assumed that all users will use Bluetooth.