National security officials are warning iOS and Android users to disable their location services immediately.
It seems while our phones track a lot of our data, they're not so good at keeping it to themselves.
Just last week, hackers breached location tracker Gravy Analytics and stole sensitive data involving 'customer lists, information on the broader industry, and even location data harvested from smartphones which show peoples’ precise movements.'
The problem isn’t your phone though, it’s the apps you have installed.
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According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): "Each time you see a targeted ad, your personal information is exposed to thousands of advertisers and data brokers through a process called real-time bidding’ (RTB).
"This process does more than deliver ads—it fuels government surveillance, poses national security risks, and gives data brokers easy access to your online activity. RTB might be the most privacy-invasive surveillance system that you’ve never heard of.”
The NSA warns that even apps downloaded from the official Apple and Google Play stores can collect and share your location data without your knowledge.
"Many apps request permission for location and other resources that are not needed for the function of the app," the NSA stated. "Users with location concerns should be extremely careful about sharing information on social media.”
In short, your location data is a goldmine for hackers, advertisers, and even hostile governments, as per the NSA.
"Location data can be extremely valuable and must be protected. It can reveal details about the number of users in a location, user and supply movements, daily routines (user and organizational), and can expose otherwise unknown associations between users and locations.”
Security researcher Baptiste Robert highlighted just how dangerous this issue can be.
"This isn’t your typical data leak, it’s a national security threat," he posted on X.
"By mapping military locations in Russia alongside the location data, I identified military personnel in seconds.”
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to keep your location data safe without having to permanently turn off your location services and WiFi networks.
First, the cybersecurity experts advise users to only give apps the permissions they truly need.
"Set privacy settings to ensure apps are not using or sharing location data… Location settings for such apps should be set to either not allow location data usage or, at most, allow location data usage only while using the app," they stated.
Ad tracking should also be disabled in your phone's privacy settings and users should reset their device’s advertising ID regularly - ideally 'on a weekly basis.'
The NSA concluded: “While it may not always be possible to completely prevent the exposure of location information, it is possible—through careful configuration and use—to reduce the amount of location data shared.
Awareness of the ways to handle and protect your information is the 'first step.'