How your mobile phone location data is being sold to ICE

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"If you use a mobile phone with location services turned on, it is likely that data about where you live and work, where you shop for groceries, where you go to church and see your doctor, and where you traveled to over the holidays is up for sale. And U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is one of the customers. The U.S. government doesn't need to collect data about people's locations itself, because your mobile phone is already doing it."

The Independent covers reproductive rights, climate change, and Big Tech while sending reporters to the ground to investigate developing stories. The outlet funds reporting through donations, keeps journalism free of paywalls, and aims to make coverage accessible to all by asking those who can afford it to support reporting. Mobile phones with location services commonly record precise location histories that are collected invisibly by apps and sold to third parties, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Location data is sometimes collected for intended app use, but is often gathered in the background. Once users grant permission, they typically lose control over how location data is used and shared.

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