Buzz
Our smartphones constantly monitor our movements, a troubling aspect of modern life. A recent investigation by 404 Media reveals the depth of this invasive tracking, demonstrating how a service available to government contractors can map the exact journey of a phone from someone's home to an abortion clinic and back.
The tool in question, Locate X, is operated by Babel Street, a company that provides access to law enforcement and government contractors. (An investigator obtained a free trial of the software and shared their findings with journalists at various media outlets, including 404.)
How governments can monitor your location through your smartphone
Locate X utilizes data transmitted by your phone to advertisers and app developers. Each smartphone possesses a MAID, or mobile advertising ID, which uniquely identifies the device without directly linking it to your personal identity—at least in theory.
Advertisers employ these IDs in numerous innovative ways. They can deliver location-based ads and collaborate across platforms to target you with ads on one app based on searches you’ve conducted in another.
As Stephen Johnson has detailed, many instances where your phone seems to eavesdrop on your conversations are actually due to the unsettling practices advertisers use with data obtained through standard methods. They can tailor ads to align with the interests of your friends and family, regardless of whether they’ve discussed these topics with you.
Your MAID is not truly anonymous. Advertisers and data brokers can deduce that a specific phone frequently visits a particular address, likely your home. They can easily determine your workplace, favorite shopping spots, and more. If you travel to a friend’s house, cross state lines, and visit an abortion clinic, this is information you might prefer to keep private, especially in states where abortion is restricted or criminalized.
If local governments or law enforcement agencies subscribe to such services, they can identify you and track your activities. As 404 highlights, similar data has already been utilized by agencies like ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement), CBP (Customs and Border Protection), and others.
Steps to Reduce Government Tracking of Your Location
The most secure approach is to leave your phone behind when visiting reproductive health facilities or any location where you prefer not to be monitored. However, this may not always be feasible, given how heavily we depend on our phones for daily tasks.
You can disable location permissions for individual apps; follow the guides for Android and for iPhones.
You can prevent apps from sharing your activity with advertisers or data brokers. Refer to the instructions for Android and for iPhones.
Turning off your phone can help, though it may not completely halt all forms of location tracking. Locate X, for instance, relies on specific apps and ad networks, as detailed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in their guide to understanding various location tracking technologies here.
