Learn who may be tracking your cell phone, from government agencies to private companies.
The primary technology behind mass location tracking is the seemingly innocent Automatic License Plate Reader. Local police departments are building a collection of mass quantities of data about where Americans have gone The following is a transcribed version of Catherine Crump’s TED Talk speech. The shocking police crackdown on protestors in Ferguson, Missouri, in the […]
In London, British police believe they know who made off with $30,000 worth of jewelery from a shop in Kingston on Sunday. The suspected thief, who stole two diamond rings and a wedding band, left behind his cellphone, which had a photo of himself set as the wallpaper. The 27 year old suspect is Germain […]
The Wisconsin State Assembly has passed a bill that would prevent police from tracking the location of cell phones without first having a warrant. To obtain a warrant, the application would need to identify the phone, the person in possession of the phone, the subject of the investigation, a statement of the crime, and a […]
Millions of iPhone users love using some of its various apps to convert nearly everything they say into text. Convenient, right? But have you ever wondered what Apple does with what you say? According to a report originally posted by WIRED, Apple has confirmed that applications like Siri, its built-in voice recognition system, record your […]
There is a catalog full of devices that allow the NSA to monitor computers that aren’t even connected to the internet.
The U.S. District Judge William Pauley ruled the National Security Administration’s collection of millions of American’s phone records is constitutional on Friday, dismissing an ACLU lawsuit against the NSA. The judge stated the collection of phone records is a legal and valuable tool to fight terrorism that “only works because it collects everything.” He added […]
Earlier this year, the Seattle Police Department installed a network of 160 devices throughout the city that can monitor your location, and potentially keep a record of your movement throughout the city. It was reported by a local news channel that the city purchased the devices with $2.6 million of Homeland Security money. The network […]
You might be wondering: Can my cell phone be tracked, even if it’s turned off? A recent report indicates that the National Security Agency is allowed to obtain location information on almost anyone. And they can do it even if the individual’s smart phone is powered off. It claims that this technology was developed in […]
Imagine you’re in a drug store, buying some personal items, or at a bookstore reading up on certain medical issues. You would’ve thought these shopping activities weren’t anyone’s business but your own. However, if you have a smartphone on you, your exact location in these stores can be tracked. We’ve previously reported on retail stores […]
Upscale fashion retailer Nordstrom is discontinuing the collection of information from its customers’ smart phones. We’ve previously reported about the technology being used at a Portland, Oregon store as part of a pilot program in 20 stores nationwide. The system, which had been in place since September of 2012, used an array of sensors placed […]
