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The data is probably just phone self-reported GPS coordinates, and we know how accurate or inaccurate those can be: https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/performance/
by roywiggins 4y ago
The data is probably just phone self-reported GPS coordinates, and we know how accurate or inaccurate those can be: https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/performance/accuracy/#how-accurate https://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/performance/accuracy/#how-ac...
Both are articles are perfectly consistent with being able to locate a person to within at best a 16 feet radius or so, and less accurate when in a built-up area. Hence the quote about not being able to reliably tell which side of the road someone's phone pinged on.
- jonhohle 4y agoIt’s also the same data used by police to identify devices (and by extension their owners) that were near the scene of a crime. Phones don’t use “just” GPS for calculating position. My point is one article uses the information to (rightfully) strike fear/discomfort in the reader. The other article uses it to dismiss an investigation that is inconsistent with the paper’s narrative.