AllTop Viral!

One of my favorite shows is Person of Interest. It explores the power of the internet and cellular technology has to become surveillance devices. When the show first came out, it seemed like they took the whole “cellular tracking device” thing to an extreme. But nowadays, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that cell phones are literally tracking devices. A New York Times exposé has revealed just that.

Here’s the upshot from the article:

At least 75 companies receive anonymous, precise location data from apps whose users enable location services to get local news and weather or other information, The Times found. Several of those businesses claim to track up to 200 million mobile devices in the United States — about half those in use last year. The database reviewed by The Times — a sample of information gathered in 2017 and held by one company — reveals people’s travels in startling detail, accurate to within a few yards and in some cases updated more than 14,000 times a day.

You can check whether your apps share data here. The article reveals how sneaky apps can be when they sell your location data, with some simply saying they’re going to use it to deliver targeted ads. They don’t tell you that they’re actually selling it to third parties.

More about tech.