This is the case with Fog Data Science and its data-selling business with law enforcement agencies.
Some people might be tracking you and making money off of your location data.
More interestingly, government agencies are in on it.
What is Fog Data Science, how are they violating your privacy, and how can you stop them?
What Is Fog Data Science?
How Does Fog Data Science Work?
Mobile technology applications have geolocation trackers that can identify users locations.
These applicationsleverage geofencing to generate real-time data about your whereabouts.
This explains why you receive promotions about goods and services in your area.
But the dynamics are different with Fog Data Science.
These organizations use the data they collect from FDS to conduct investigations and solve criminal cases.
The company has a data-processing system that collects 15 billion location signals of 250 million devices daily.
Are Fog Data Sciences Services Legal?
ThePrivacy Act of 1974upholds the confidentiality of U.S. citizens' data.
It prohibits government agencies from sharing people’s data without their consent.
Law enforcement using data collected without users content raises concerns about privacy violations.
The Fourth Amendment was enacted before the advent of digital technology.
And thats because these officers need to protect themselves.
So, they have no right to check people’s devices during arrests without a warrant.
Doing that violates people’s privacy because the places they visit are a part of their personal lives.
The more applications you use on your equipment, the more you allow them to collect your data.
Apps can enhance the user experience, so maybe you don’t want to stop using them completely.
However, you could minimize app usage by installing only the ones you really need and deleting non-active ones.
When you activate location-based services, you give the service providers the right to track your location.
And in turn, they could sell your location data to companies like Fog Data Science.
Turning off these services restricts them from collecting your data.
Disable Ad-Tracking
Mobile applications have ad trackers that trail your online interactions to serve you custom ads.
The same thing happens when you engage with a particular post on social media.
Check your mobile devices regularly to ensure that you activate the right privacy controls.
Always turn off strange or suspicious controls to be on the safer side.
