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Has it ever occurred to you that your cell phone might know more than necessary about your day-to-day activities? In our time when we hardly do anything without the use of smartphones or wearable devices, the convenience of such technology cannot help but concern us.
However, most people think that the process of disabling cellular data or shutting down applications automatically turns off the flow of information. But the process of smart device tracking is much more complex.
In other words, your smartphone is actively sending signals into the environment without your permission.
Smart device tracking depends on the fact that a cell phone must be connected all the time in order to get notifications, receive calls, etc. It is constantly checking what is going on in the surroundings. Thus, even if you are sure that you are not connected to any network, your smartphone is transmitting some information that helps define your precise location.
A cell phone works through communicating with cell towers of the networks. While the user continues to move, the phone connects with the nearest towers for keeping a good signal connection.
Through signal measurement and calculation of the distance of the phone from the three nearest towers, the location of the user is calculated.
This process goes on continuously in the background. There is no other method but switching off the phone from the mobile networks to prevent it from pinging the towers.
If the data from the cellular network is switched off, the phone can be tracked through other short-distance wireless communications.
Once the Wi-Fi is activated, a smartphone sends “probe request” packets seeking out known Wi-Fi networks. Specialized Wi-Fi access routers located in public places such as malls or airports trace these probes and map out the person’s movement within the facility.
Applications such as “Find My” devices use low-energy Bluetooth signals. In case the device gets lost, it sends out an encrypted request to nearby smart devices, which then silently send its location to the cloud.
Also Read: How to Secure Your WiFi Network at Home?
In conclusion, tracking of smart devices is an inherent characteristic of modern-age technology. Although the purpose of the creation of these tracking systems by technological companies is security, navigation, and convenience, they also collect large amounts of personal data. Understanding how these signals work is the first step towards the protection of one’s privacy.