Is anything in this article applicable to GL.iNet routers now or in the future?

Router
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So this article came out today from Google and it's mostly about Android, but it does bring up certain things pertaining to the general concept of network privacy and security.

In my WiFi network, there are many connected devices. How do I prevent a user from inadvertently allowing an app on their phone to scan the local network to see what other devices are connected without my permission, which could be used to build profiles of the household?

An interesting thing that I never heard of is Encrypted Client Hello (ECH). How does this relate to anything with GL.iNet’s router, OpenWRT, and what the future may bring?

@charles2

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Hi,

Thanks for sharing this article and these interesting points with us.

For local network scanning, whether an individual app is allowed to discover or access devices on the local network is mainly controlled by the operating system, such as Android or iOS.

A router can restrict communication between devices or networks, for example through AP isolation, Guest/IoT network isolation, VLANs, or firewall rules, but it normally cannot determine which app on a phone generated a particular connection.
Therefore, app-level local network permissions such as Android's Local Network Protection need to be implemented on the client device.

Regarding Encrypted Client Hello (ECH), the encryption is negotiated between the client and the remote server. The router is normally only an intermediate forwarding device and does not need to decrypt or participate in the ECH negotiation.
In general, if both the client and the destination service support ECH, the router only needs to forward the traffic normally.

Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. We will continue to follow related developments and evaluate their relevance to our products as appropriate.

3 Likes
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Ok, thanks for answering. I was wondering if there were any networking implications, but it sounds like not so that's good.

I hope to hear back from you about the other thread before you take a head off for the weekend!

1 Like
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Hi,

You're welcome. We'll continue to follow up on the other thread and reply there if there are any updates.