Leave the Phone at Home
Location data is a terrifying thing. Want to persecute undocumented immigrants? There’s location data for that. Want to out a closeted queer person? Yup, there’s location data for that, too. Location data was also responsible for the women being pummeled with anti-abortion messaging—in 2017, the Massachusetts Attorney General settled with a local advertising company after it was caught using ad-targeting location tech to harass women in abortion clinics. All of this is perfectly legal, which means some equally nightmarish scenario might be waiting for all abortion-seekers pretty soon.
While both Android and iPhone devices let you turn off location services—which is always a good idea—there’s still other ways brokers can get this information, be it Wi-Fi signals, cell towers, or bluetooth beacons. If you want to keep your location private from these snoopers while you’re protesting or visiting a clinic, it’s never a bad idea to swap out your regular phone with a cheap burner device, or just leave your phone at home whenever you’re out.
