Nobody needs to follow you to know where you went this week.
asserted
you → need → you
The phone in your pocket can already keep a record of your movements.
asserted
phone → keep → movements
And parts of that information can end up in the hands of other companies.
asserted
parts → end → companies
The church you attend on Sunday morning.
asserted
you → attend → morning
The support group you'd rather nobody knew about.
asserted
nobody → rather → ?
None of it necessarily comes from hacking.
asserted
None → come → hacking
It can come from ordinary apps you installed yourself and the permissions you gave them.
asserted
you → come → them
Here's how your movements can get out, who buys location data and the settings that can limit how much gets shared.
asserted
much → get → data
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shares practical ways to stay safer, smarter and more confident with technology.
asserted
Knutsson → share → technology
Each class is free, easy to follow and comes with a free printable checklist.
asserted
class → follow → checklist
See the classes and register at CyberGuyLive.com
Your phone can carry an advertising identifier
asserted
phone → see → identifier
Smartphones can use advertising identifiers that help advertisers and developers measure ads and activity.
asserted
advertisers → use → ads
On Apple devices, the system advertising identifier is known as the IDFA.
asserted
identifier → know → IDFA
Android devices can use Google's advertising ID.
asserted
devices → use → ID
Advertising identifiers can help connect activity across apps when apps and advertising systems are permitted to use them.
asserted
apps → help → them
Combined with location data and other signals, those identifiers can help companies build a much more detailed trail of where a device has been.
asserted
device → combine → trail
And a trail stops being anonymous fast.
asserted
trail → stop → ?
A device that sleeps at your address every night and turns up at a dialysis center every Tuesday and Thursday isn't much of a mystery to anyone who can connect those locations with other identifying information.
asserted
who → sleep → information
The apps hand it off, and it keeps moving
An app asks for your location.
asserted
app → hand → location
What many people don't realize is that apps can include advertising and analytics software from outside companies.
asserted
apps → realize → companies
Depending on the app, its permissions and its privacy practices, that technology may collect or receive information about your device and location.
uncertain
technology → depend → device
Location information can also become part of the digital advertising ecosystem, where information about a device can pass among multiple companies.
asserted
information → become → companies
Once location data leaves your phone, controlling where it goes next becomes much harder.
asserted
it → leave → phone
Federal regulators have already gone after this
This isn't a theory about what could happen.
uncertain
what → go → this
The government spent years fighting one such case in court.
asserted
government → spend → court
On May 4, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement that bars the data broker Kochava and its subsidiary, Collective Data Solutions, from selling, sharing or disclosing sensitive location data without people's affirmative express consent, subject to the terms of the order.
uncertain
that → announce → order
The FTC alleged Kochava sold location data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that could track people to health facilities, places of worship and other sensitive locations.
uncertain
that → allege → worship
Kochava did not admit wrongdoing.
asserted
Kochava → admit → wrongdoing
In December 2024, the FTC took action against two more location data companies, Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla, over allegations involving the sale of sensitive location data.
asserted
FTC → take → data
Then one of them got robbed
asserted
one → rob → them
In January 2025, Gravy Analytics was breached.
asserted
Analytics → breach → January
A hacker posted what they claimed was 17 terabytes of stolen data on a Russian cybercrime forum.
asserted
they → post → forum
Security researchers examining a sample found more than 30 million location points, including phones at the White House, the Kremlin and military bases around the world.
asserted
researchers → examine → world
The data reportedly came from everyday apps, including games and dating apps.
uncertain
data → come → games
Think about what that means.
asserted
that → think → what
A company collects movements.
asserted
company → collect → movements
Regulators take action over how sensitive location data gets handled.
asserted
data → take → action
Then criminals allegedly obtain a massive collection of data anyway.
uncertain
criminals → obtain → data
What your movements actually tell a stranger
asserted
tell → tell → stranger
A few weeks of location data can potentially reveal:
- Which clinic you go to and how often you go back
- Which house of worship you attend and whether you still do
- Whether anyone else appears to live at your address
- What hours your home may sit empty
- Which relatives you visit and on what day
Those last few can turn a privacy problem into a safety concern.
uncertain
few → reveal → concern
…and 63 more, not listed.
The Aporia
