Government agencies often buy users' GPS locations from tech companies

Crystal SUAREZ 2023/01/04

　　When a phone is turned off, law enforcement must use other methods, such as triangulating signals from cell towers or using GPS data stored on the phone to determine its location.These devices are easy to operate and should be carefully installed and disassembled.GPS jammers gadgets can be found everywhere on the internet, and the price is less than $100.Government agencies routinely buy users' location and other personal data from tech companies.Modern mobile phones are equipped with GPS systems that constantly record and store our location information.

　　The U.S.Supreme Court has upheld some privacy protections when it comes to tracking cellphones, but the law lags far behind new technology capabilities and law enforcement surveillance.In 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S.government purchased cell phone location records from commercial databases for use in immigration enforcement.

　　Law enforcement may request this data using a court order or search warrant.While agencies in the US should be authorized before tracking a person's phone or GPS data, they're not always transparent about how they use the information they collect.It's a useful feature if you're trying to find a lost phone or choose the best route for a road trip, but it also allows apps, ad companies and even hackers to access your location, sometimes without your knowledge.

　　Additionally, some governments are using location tracking to enforce social distancing orders and help with contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic.Technology and law are constantly evolving.Cell phone and wireless service providers, as well as technology companies such as Google, store certain historical and real-time location data collected from cell phone connections to cell towers, GPS satellite tracking, and smart device applications and operating systems.

　　The frequency they emit prevents incoming and outgoing GPS signals and interferes with the normal operation of GPS devices.Law enforcement can track someone through their mobile device when it's off, but the process is more complicated than when the device is on.Also, if law enforcement has access to past location history recorded when a device was on and connected to a network, they might be able to infer where a device might have gone after it was turned off.