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Your smartphone is likely being tracked by a tool called Locate X. Law enforcement and other U.S. state agencies use it. And they don’t need a warrant to track you either.
This may or may not exactly be news to you. Locate X, created by a data surveillance company called Babel Street, previously received coverage in 2020. At the time, numerous reports uncovered a Secret Service document concerning the agency’s contract with the company for usage of the tool.
However, 404 Media has a new look at the tool which includes a trial run of the program in action – and it’s concerning to say the least.
The tool that can track your abortion clinic visit
In the trial, according to 404 Media, Locate X was able to focus on an individual cell phone which is displayed as a red dot in the tool.
The tool tracked the cell phone from an apparent residence in Alabama to a Lowe’s store, then along the highway to a church, and then eventually to an abortion clinic in Florida. The red dot stayed at the abortion clinic for two hours before heading back to the apparent residence. The tool tracked the phone to the clinic just one single time.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Alabama has outright banned abortion in most cases. Republican-run states that have outlawed abortion, including Alabama, have sought out further criminalization for those seeking abortions out-of-state in places like Florida where it’s heavily restricted but still legal up to a certain point.
The cell phone tracking history provided above was all obtained without a warrant. It’s worth noting that the tool alone cannot identify a user connected to the phone, but law enforcement could certainly use additional tools at agencies’ disposals to identify a user.
In addition, the usage of Locate X for 404 Media’s piece wasn’t provided by law enforcement or a state agency. The trial was accessed directly through Babel Street by data removal company Atlas Privacy. The company, which is currently suing data brokers that enable tools like Locate X, was able to obtain a trial by simply saying it was a private investigation agency. No restrictions were placed on the trial.
As 404 Media points out, companies like Apple and Google have placed extra emphasis in recent years on securing users’ location data on iPhones and Android devices. However, third-party apps, advertisers, and data brokers still collect varying degrees of information from users which make tools like Locate X possible.
As Krebs on Security reports, last week, Atlas Privacy filed a lawsuit against Babel Street, alleging that it is breaking a New Jersey law allowing law enforcement, government officials, and their families to be completely removed from data brokers’ records.
If you’re currently concerned about your cell phone being used to track your location via tools like Locate X, for now you can deny mobile apps’ requests to track.
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A new report takes a look at just how closely a phone tracking tool is able to follow smartphone users.
