Private companies are tracking your location without notice or a warrant — and it’s all perfectly legal

Bluetooth seems harmless enough. It connects your phone to your car stereo to play music or pairs your fitness tracker with your phone to relay data. But did you know Bluetooth hides a hidden danger that could expose your location? Even worse, private companies and law enforcement can use this exploit to monitor your activity without giving notice or obtaining a warrant.

Your phone tattles on you in public (even if you don’t know it)

By its own admission, a marketing technology company called Leonardo US Cyber and Security Solutions revealed that it can use Bluetooth and WiFi to “identify people of interest by the signals emitted from their electronic devices they travel with” through a service called SignalTrace.

Its immense power can easily be abused to follow