While you belike already know enabling location services for third - party apps might compromise your privacy , an investigativeNew York Times reportdetails just how creepy and personal smartphone emplacement data point can be .
According to the Times , at least 75 companies get “ anonymous ” but extremely exact app location data from about 200 million smartphones in America . Some garner this data as frequently as 14,000 times a day . That information is n’t exactly surprising on its own — if you ’re technical school - savvy , you jazz enabling placement data point is unelaborated and that some of it is likely used for advertising . But the plate and murk surrounding the positioning tracking industry is disconcert , to say the least . In a span of example , the Times was able to track people within a few yard of their actual location . reporter also found that party had admittance to location data from hospitals , homes , shoal , and shops . To cite one peculiarly skeevy example , ad firm target political campaign for personal combat injury attorney to hoi polloi in emergency room .
The report note that even though personal data point sent to advertizer is anonymized and not tied to a phone figure or unique identifier , the Times feel it well-to-do to count on out a someone ’s identity establish on their specific day-to-day routines — like where you sleep each night , your first light commute , or even your frequent haunts .
Of 20 democratic appstested , the Times set up that 17 apps sent exact co-ordinate to 70 concern . It also noted that only three on iOS and one on Android prompted users that their data could be used for advertizement . Some of the tested apps included WeatherBug , the Weather Channel , theScore , GasBuddy , DC Metro and Bus , Tube Map – London Underground , Perfect365 , SnipSnap Coupon App , and Masha and the Bear : Free Animal Games for Kids .
Even if users enabled location services for benign intent , like amaze traffic updates , the reporters discovered that some apps did n’t clear break the extent to which the gather up data was used . For model , the Times find the Weather Channel app — the Weather Channel is owned by an IBM foot soldier — analyzed collect drug user data point for hedge funds , but the location prompt only tell user would get “ personalized local atmospheric condition data , alert , and forecast . ” what is more , there are no federal legal philosophy specifically limiting how this type of location is used or collected , and deficiency of regulation means there ’s no uniformness as to how customer data is protect .
While enabling fix data does make apps more convenient , the Times story is a goodreminder to sporadically review which apps have permit to share your location . On iOS , you’re able to go through preferences , seclusion , and lastly emplacement service . Once there , you may manually go through your apps and decide whether to allow location setting always , never , or only while using the app . On Android , you could go through configurations , security system & location , position , and then app - level permission . And you have sex , purge apps you do n’t use anymore ca n’t hurt either .
[ New York Times ]
location trackingPrivacy
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