Surprise! Your GPS Device (Probably) Isn't Spying On You - Page 2 of 2

Some Exceptions

Police and fire departments across the country use GPS-based devices to track their vehicles, which helps dispatchers know where police officers and firefighters are during an emergency. Most police and fire systems accomplish this using GPS devices that have radio transmitters built inside, which communicate with headquarters via a local network of radio towers, says Paiva.

Another way that GPS is sometimes used for tracking is in criminal investigations. In perhaps the most famous case, police attached GPS devices to convicted murderer Scott Peterson’s vehicles so they could track his movements after the bodies of his wife Laci and their unborn son were discovered. The data was used to prove that he returned to the scene of the crime multiple times as police investigated.

Railroads and trucking companies place GPS devices on rail cars and semi trailers to watch for theft. Those units stay in touch using cellular signals, Paiva says, or by communicating with satellites outside the GPS network.

“You had railroads or trucking companies and there was a shocking number, like 20 percent or 30 percent of their rolling stock, they had no idea where it was,” says Paiva. “That’s a lot of expensive equipment to lose track of.”

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A Question of Resources

The technology to track consumers’ movements using in-car GPS devices is readily available. And just as websites make money selling ads based on tracking peoples’ travels around the Internet to gather in-depth profiles of their tastes and routines, a detailed record of where people drive could be a treasure trove of information about individuals’ regular commutes and shopping habits.

These companies have “the ability to know where you are, and if they can deliver ads they could do that,” Brookman says.

So why aren’t companies like Magellan and TomTom collecting that data? Perhaps the biggest reason why GPS companies haven’t outfitted their devices with tracking services is cost. Installing a radio or cellular transmitter into each GPS device would cost an additional $50 apiece, Paiva estimates.

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In addition, GPS companies would need some transmission network to send and receive the signals. That means either building their own system of towers, or paying radio or cellular companies every time a GPS device sends a message about its location (which, for the system to work, would mean a nearly constant stream of messages).

“They might not have the infrastructure in place,” Brookman says.

Either option is prohibitively expensive, especially for an industry that’s already in decline.

GPS companies “certainly are having their butts kicked” by smartphones, which can do all the same mapping functions, Paiva says.

A Privacy Concern Remains

If you’re still concerned about the privacy of your GPS data, there is still something to worry about: Theft. Unlike with an iPhone, GPS devices don’t keep detailed records of everywhere you go. They do store addresses that you type in, however. If someone steals the device, he’d be able to access that list of destinations.

“Nobody else can take out that data except if a person steals your car,” says Grewal.