Author archives

Benjamin Muller, Associate Professor in Migration and Border Studies, King’s University College, Western University.

Satellite data: The other type of smartphone data you might not know about

Subject matter experts Tommy Cooke, Alicia Sabatino, Benjamin Muller and Kirstie Ball used critical code and documentary research methods to identify that raw satellite location measurement data are perpetually created in our devices all the time. Because satellite data are building blocks used by our phones to determine where we are, they don’t always get turned off — nor are they collected and treated the same way as location data. The collection and use of these data are a significant risk to our privacy.

Subjects: Big Data, Data Mining, Legal Research, Mobile Technology, Privacy