It’s an early Tuesday morning somewhere in Bavaria. A person gets into a car to begin the commute to work. The person’s location data, which we have obtained, show the precise route taken for the commute. The drive ends at a secured facility to which most people have no access – a intelligence location in Upper Bavaria.
This location data is from a vast trove of data that we, BR and
netzpolitik.org, have evaluated – long tables with coordinates, timestamps accurate down to the second and identification numbers known as advertising IDs. Expressed as a series of letters and numbers, advertising IDs are used by the advertising industry to serve targeted advertising to select smartphones. But the location data can also be used for other purposes: If you have all the location data for a specific advertising ID, you can create a movement profile for an individual person.
netzpolitik.org, have evaluated – long tables with coordinates, timestamps accurate down to the second and identification numbers known as advertising IDs. Expressed as a series of letters and numbers, advertising IDs are used by the advertising industry to serve targeted advertising to select smartphones. But the location data can also be used for other purposes: If you have all the location data for a specific advertising ID, you can create a movement profile for an individual person.