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It is anonymized in the sense that they can't write your name into a search feature and find your location history. However, they could likely ask to buy the a
by Raphmedia 6y ago
It is anonymized in the sense that they can't write your name into a search feature and find your location history.
However, they could likely ask to buy the all data for "57 years old males born in february with a history of calling to Alaska every 5 days" and single you out.
- sna1l 6y agohttps://www.wired.com/2013/03/anonymous-phone-location-data/ https://www.wired.com/2013/03/anonymous-phone-location-data/
- hn_throwaway_99 6y agoThanks, this is exactly what I was thinking about, glad someone did an actual study.
- Shacklz 6y agoI heard a talk once from some guy working for a company who analyzes this data (it had something to do with transportation of people; where it would be most efficient to have a new bus route and such), some of the regulations are actually rather interesting (Europe). E.g., location-specific data is not allowed to be sold if the amount of data points is below a given threshold, to avoid de-anonymization scenarios such as the one you have mentioned. Granted, I have no idea how well the regulations actually work, but it did sound as if quite a bit of thought went into it. Thinking about this, I wonder if companies providing smartphone apps with invasive tracking are upheld to the same standards...