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It’s probably not surprising that government agencies have access to a lot of your data – partly because we give some of it to them directly and partly because they can buy it from data brokers that already exist to collect, collect and sell them to other companies. A a recent report from 404 Media confirms that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is among those that purchase and use location data collected through advertisements to track users’ movements.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, and a handful of other federal agencies have also purchased location data by brokers in recent years, but an internal document from the Department of Homeland Security obtained by 404 Media confirms that CBP got its location tracking in part from real-time bidding (RTB), which is behind every online ad you’re served.
The The Electronic Frontier Foundation describes how this process exposes your location data happens within milliseconds every time you open an ad-supported app or visit a website. The app or website pings an ad technology company to find out which ads to show, and that company puts together a “request for offer” using your data, including your device’s advertising ID, IP address, demographic information, GPS coordinates, and more. This request for bid is sent to thousands of advertisers and the highest bidder is the one that is ultimately displayed.
Meanwhile, both ad tech companies and advertisers get all your data, and the organizations that buy that data can link movements to specific devices, making it easier to track over a period of time.
How to protect your location data from tracking
As the EFF notes, law enforcement in almost every state can buy location data from data brokers without first obtaining a warrant, so the onus is largely on users to protect themselves against location tracking. (It’s worth noting that Apple devices tend to have more privacy settings than Android, as apps running on iOS must request access to advertising identifiers, making it easier for users to opt out.)
All of this means that you can (and should) take a few steps to minimize how your location is tracked and shared.
Disable advertising identifiers on your device
To delete advertising IDs on Android, go to Settings > Security & Privacy > Privacy Controls > Ads and touch Delete Advertising ID.
What do you think so far?
On iOS, disable Ad ID globally under Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and turn off Allow apps to request tracking. Then go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising and disable Personalized ads to remove internal tracking for Apple’s own services.
Audit which apps have access to location services
You should know which apps are using your location data and disable permissions when it’s not essential for the app to function. Alternatively, you can only allow apps to access your location when in use and turn off exact location sharing (so only your approximate location is visible).
On iOS it’s under Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Serviceswhere you can choose permissions and turn off Exact location for individual applications. On Android go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Privacy Controls > Permissions Manager.
Use airplane mode to stop real-time tracking
Airplane mode is a one-touch way to limit tracking – useful if you’re headed to a protest or other sensitive location. Your device can still store and transmit this data later, but the EFF notes that most apps am I not likely to do so.
