The data obtained by The Times is anonymized and aggregated, meaning that the journalists see broad statistics compiled by geographic area — such as the median distance moved per day by devices in a census tract.
12 of the Most Superb Employee GPS Tracking Apps
The Times did not receive information about individual phones and did not see the path any particular phone took. About 15 million people in the United States use the relevant apps daily and allow them to track their location regularly. Although the data excludes names, phone numbers and other identifying information, even anonymous location information can be revealing.
The fact that companies are collecting, storing and selling location information about individuals at all presents risks. Different companies have widely varying approaches to handling the information, including deleting large portions of it for privacy reasons or selling the raw data with no protections.
Location data on individuals is used for purposes like marketing and analysis for hedge funds and law enforcement. There is no federal law in the United States that limits the use of location information in this way, although some have been proposed.
Cellphone tracking could help stem the spread of coronavirus. Is privacy the price?
Cuebiq said it collects and stores raw location data but does not sell it. Location data from smartphones is used for several purposes, most frequently for targeted advertising. For example, companies may show ads for sneakers to people who often go to a gym. Companies such as Apple and Google use similar information for mapping and traffic monitoring, or to tell people when stores are likely to be busy. Makers of apps that sell the data say it allows them to give users their services without charging them money.
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During the coronavirus pandemic, location information has shown where people are following social distancing rules, and where they have traveled — enabling analysis of potential hot spots. The Times has used this data to show that people from low-income areas were less likely to be able to shelter at home than people from high-income locations and to demonstrate how the virus may have spiraled out of control in the United States.
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It can be difficult for people to keep track of whether and how their data is being gathered. Android-based devices and iPhones both require apps to ask users to enable location services before collecting the information, but the explanations people see when prompted to give permission are often incomplete or misleading. An app may tell users that granting access to their location will help them get weather alerts, but not mention that the data will be sold.
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That disclosure is often buried in a densely worded privacy policy. But some apps made it easier than others to stop the data collection.
Additional Information
The important thing to note in the US is that the service you use to track phone numbers connects directly with the SS7 network for real-time tracking. The SS7 network is a database of phone numbers with associated personal details, so every query your phone number tracking service sends through to the SS7 network will produce the details stored against the number.
You will know the name of the person calling through their phone number. CNAM lookups can also help you with checking the spam score of the phone number being tracked. This is very useful to avoid wasting time on unnecessary calls that can disrupt your daily routine! Some tools like this one allow you to know the caller type business or personal.
Additional Information
Twilio is particularly useful for displaying useful information from CNAM lookups in the following format:. Have a look at the image below:.
As can be seen, the search results display wherever the number has appeared on Facebook. It can be extremely useful to know exactly who called you and why, and protect yourself from any kind of fraud or spam calls.
For more information on searching phone numbers on Facebook, refer to this community answer. If action is required, this empowers you with more information. So what do you do if the phone number is blocked and the caller is unknown? Try Trapcall to first unmask a phone number, and then follow the steps above!