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I'm not aware of any API in iOS that exposes the list of nearby WiFi networks to an app.

No, this feature used to be there in iOS 4 I believe, but was removed in subsequent iOS versions.

To be honest, there is a private API for it. It is the one the AirPort Utility app uses for its built-in Wi-Fi Scan feature.

In iOS 13 you can only know the name of the current Wi-Fi network, and you require location permission for it.

The ability to do this and all sorts of other stuff was sadly removed for precisely this reason.