Are wi-fi hotspots/repeaters a good way to mitigate privacy issues from routers?
Routers from what I understand have a few way to monitor people around, like radio-based sonar, logging and informing of every device that connects to it, etc.
If wanting to ensure some more #privacy, would it be a good option to keep the router as far as possible from the common areas of the house, so what I can "see" is blurry at best, while using repeaters like old phones on vanilla AOSP and SBC devices?
That's not my area so maybe I'm going way off in my assumptions, but I'd think that these repeaters wouldn't bridge sonar functions, they wouldn't report on devices connected through them, their systems wouldn't be a black box unlike the router itself, data packets sent from devices with VPN would remain encrypted while they go through the repeaters and router's route, and with ethernet cables could allow for an specially long distance.
So... Would it be an interesting option?
A repeater is NOT going to add privacy. You're still linked back to the main gateway which controls all settings.
If you're absolutely stuck with ISP equipment, immediately change away from built-in DNS like Comcast's 75.75.75.75, ignore Google DNS cuz it's just as bad. Quad9 is the noisy trustworthy IMO. 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112 for secondary. I would also change default login info and default WiFi passwords if you haven't already. Disable WPS connectivity, update firmware, etc. This helps harden and secure.
If you're able to run your own equipment, that'll take you running the ISP device in "bridge mode" which hands off traffic to your gateway/wireless router. You can then look to bump security settings through forums or parts online, but will vary greatly with your own budget and technical prowess..
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