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Hi there! I know that mobile carriers gather tonnes of data about their users and sometimes they share depersonalized data with third parties. I would like to know is it safe and how anonymous that data is. Many thanks in advance! |
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Hello, Jim! You are right, mobile carriers generate lots of data and they frequently share it with third parties, such as advertisers and law enforcements. The major data seller is Verizon Wireless. That data is depersonalized and totally anonymous, so there is no obvious way how to find out that it was you, who sit at this particular restaurant, or you are 29 years old. But there are a couple of issues, that are to be considered. First of all, there is a way to find your information among the tonnes of that depersonalized data thanks to cell tower triangulation and social networking. Triangulation makes it possible to know your exact location at any moment of time and social networks will tell even more about you. They may tell anyone what your favourite bar is and that you were there last night. By comparing the data it is possible to establish connections between anonymous and personal information. You should understand, that smartphones and social networks help to track you. But there are a couple of ways of protection. First one is to avoid social networks, which is really inconvenient. The second one is to use cell phone signal blockers, which will prevent cell tower triangulation. So the data on your location won;t be gathered for sure. There is also an inconvenience here, all the cell phones around you will loose reception, but that's the price of security. Thanks for your question, I hope, I've managed to help. |
