Massive location data hack exposed 30M records – here’s how to protect yourself

I've been an iPhone user for a long time, and I'm very mindful of who I share my location with or what apps and services get access to location data. I block apps from tracking me, and I do not share location access unless I have to. Even then, I ensure that location access is temporary or set to "while using" the app in question.

These habits and protections mean I'm at ease hearing that a location data broker suffered a major data breach and that hackers are in possession of location data that could identify people and their movements. I hardly share any location data, so what could they have on me?

It turns out that even without sharing location data, ads from certain apps might be responsible for sharing location data with data brokers. This happens regardless of my preferences and without the explicit knowledge of said apps. In such a case, some location data could always make it to the databases of firms like Gravy Analytics.

This is the name of the location data broker that was recently hacked. Gravy Analytics confirmed the attack and data breach. Hackers have posted location samples from the breach, and experts say that over 30 million data points may have been leaked in the hack. That's only a sample of a much bigger file.

The good news is that it's not too late to protect yourself against future location-related data breaches. The bad news is that if you've been lax about location sharing with apps and services, some of your data might be in the hands of hackers.

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Massive location data hack exposed 30M records – here’s how to protect yourself originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 14 Jan 2025 at 06:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.