Location
FTC to ban data broker Kochava from selling Americans’ location data
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will ban data broker Kochava and its subsidiary Collective Data Solutions (CDS) from selling location data without consumers’ explicit consent to settle charges brought nearly four years ago. The FTC sued Idaho-based Kochava in August 2022, alleging it collected and sold precise geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices. […]
New Apple privacy feature limits location tracking on iPhones, iPads
Apple is introducing a new privacy feature that lets users limit the precision of location data shared with cellular networks on some iPhone and iPad models. The “Limit Precise Location” setting will be available after upgrading to iOS 26.3 or later, and it works by restricting the information mobile carriers use to determine device locations via cell tower connections. When enabled, cellular networks […]
FTC bans GM from selling drivers’ location data for five years
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order with General Motors (GM) and its subsidiary, OnStar, settling charges that they collected and sold the location and driving data of millions of drivers without consent. General Motors owns the GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Buick brands and produces over 6.1 million vehicles each year. OnStar, GM’s subsidiary, […]
O2 UK patches bug leaking mobile user location from call metadata
A flaw in O2 UK’s implementation of VoLTE and WiFi Calling technologies could allow anyone to expose the general location of a person and other identifiers by calling the target. The problem was discovered by security researcher Daniel Williams. The flaw likely existed on O2 UK’s network since February 2023, and was resolved yesterday. O2 UK is […]
Microsoft to remove the Location History feature in Windows
Microsoft announced the deprecation of the Location History feature from Windows, which let applications like the Cortana virtual assistant to fetch location history of the device. By deprecating and removing the feature means that the data will no longer be saved locally and the setting will disappear from the operating system (Windows 10 and 11). […]
Allstate car insurer sued for tracking drivers without permission
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Allstate and its data subsidiary Arity for unlawfully collecting, using, and selling driving data from over 45 million Americans. The two companies are accused of paying millions of dollars to app developers to embed tracking code in widely used mobile apps to gather the location […]
FTC bans data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive location data
Today, the FTC banned data brokers Mobilewalla and Gravy Analytics from harvesting and selling Americans’ location tracking data linked to sensitive locations, like churches, healthcare facilities, military installations, and schools. The FTC says Mobilewalla and Gravy Analytics unlawfully collected and sold location data collected from consumers, including data linked to their visits to places of worship and health-related locations. […]