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When you purchase a
smartphonetoday, there’s an implicit agreement of your privacy taking a backseat to the device’s capabilities. Most of us are aware of this agreement, thoughthe New York Timestoday published a report on the price we pay for a smartphone’s unbridled ability.
According to the outlet, it acquired the largest smartphone location data file ever reviewed by journalists. The file contains over 57 billion location pings from the phones of over 19 million Americans in cities like Washington DC, New York City, San Francisco, and more. Each piece of information represents the precise location of one smartphone over several months in 2018 and 2018
The results are almost dystopian in terms of visuals. As an example, here’s a visualization of location pings at Grand Central Terminal in New York City:
Additional examples include the location data of people visiting the Playboy Mansion and of others visiting the Johnny Depp, Tiger Woods, and Arnold Schwarzenegger estates.
Also read:All the key Android privacy updates
The location data also hinted at failing marriages, evidence of drug addiction, and visits to psychological facilities. This is where the concerns really crop up. According to the anonymous sources of the location data, they’re afraid the company they work for could abuse the data.
Compounding matters, there’s no federal privacy law when It comes to collecting such information at scale – the industry mostly relies on self-regulation. State laws like theCalifornia Consumer Privacy Actwill add protections for residents, but private companies are generally unencumbered when It comes to data collection and sharing.
Take some time out of your day to
read the piece. As an Android-centric website and fans of Google’s mobile operating system, smartphone location tracking is nothing new to us. However,The New York Times‘visualizations and reporting show us to what extent companies go to keep tabs on where you are.Read More******************
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