The Markup

A photo collage of the class action suit against Life360.

Privacy

Life360 Sued for Selling Location Data

A proposed class-action lawsuit cites Markup reporting and claims the family-tracking app did not get user consent to sell location data

June 1, 2023 13:00 ET

Illustration of a grocery store basket on a conveyer belt, filled with various objects including smiley faces, location pins, credit cards, data blocks, envelopes and receipts.

Privacy

Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

When you use supermarket discount cards, you are sharing much more than what is in your cart—and grocery chains like Kroger are reaping huge profits selling this data to brands and advertisers

February 16, 2023 08:00 ET

Illustration of a map, with the roads evoking the silhouette of a head. There are various pencils filling in checkmarks on location pins scattered throughout the map.

Privacy

How Political Campaigns Use Your Phone’s Location to Target You

Before you got in line on Election Day, the emerging and largely unregulated political tracking industry was able to trace your movements

November 8, 2022 08:00 ET

Photograph of a Planned Parenthood building with a sign at the front that says "Now Open by Appointment."

Privacy

Planned Parenthood Data Found on Another Location Data Dashboard

A free trial dashboard from INRIX listed Planned Parenthood as a “chain,” with at least 71 locations in 35 states

July 15, 2022 13:00 ET

Illustration of a positive pregancy test. Tracking boxes surround various vignettes of pregnancy-related searches.

Privacy

After Dobbs, Advocates Fear School Surveillance Tools Could Put Teens at Risk

Monitoring software could be easily adapted to flag abortion-related searches

July 8, 2022 08:00 ET

Illustration of a handshake, with the Capitol building in the background. To the left of the Capitol building there are dollar bills. To the right of the capitol building there are multiple fires, emojis, thumbs and location pins. The hand on the right has little buttons for Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Google on their wrist.

Privacy

Tech Industry Groups Are Watering Down Attempts at Privacy Regulation, One State at a Time

Coordinated industry lobbying is overwhelming the scattered efforts of consumer groups and privacy-minded lawmakers

May 26, 2022 08:00 ET

Privacy

Following Markup Investigation, U.S. Regulators Questioned Life360’s Data Practices

The family safety company was approached by regulators about its data sales

April 1, 2022 10:00 ET

Illustration of an X situated in a maze of rooms with location pins and ladders.

Privacy

Lawsuit Highlights How Little Control Brokers Have Over Location Data

The case suggests this loosely regulated industry can’t deliver on its promises of privacy

March 21, 2022 08:00 ET

Illustration of a triangular warning sign with an explanation point in the middle. In the background there is a pattern of URL fields with an open lock and a slash through "https://"

The BreakdownPrivacy

What Does the “Connection Not Private” Warning Really Mean?

How to decide when it's safe to proceed, and what's at risk if you do

March 8, 2022 08:00 ET

Illustration of a location data diagram flow with various abstract shapes and vignettes of hands buying and selling data.

The BreakdownPrivacy

Who Is Policing the Location Data Industry?

Google and Apple have tried to crack down, but location data brokers are moving to a new way to collect your whereabouts that’s much harder to detect

February 24, 2022 08:00 ET