Security News > 2024 > April > Location tracking and the battle for digital privacy

The data broker market for location tracking is a more than $12B a year industry that is rife with serious privacy issues.

What's on the line for consumers, beyond helping you book a ride or check the weather? If your data is sold to a data broker, the answer can be A LOT. Of all the types of personal data collected without our knowing every day, precise location data is perhaps the most concerning.

Sharing our location data often starts with a legitimate use case, such as your maps app needing your location to work properly.

The problem is that many apps use the data beyond the initial intended use case, and oftentimes our location data ends up with a data broker.

Accessing our phone's location data used to require law enforcement to get a search warrant.

Your location data can be collected either through your mobile device, certain logged in accounts, internet connection and location services.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2024/04/03/location-data-privacy/