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Mapped and Tracked: The Hidden Price of Modern Tech
Addie LaMarr
December 13, 2024
You’re Being Tracked, and You Don’t Even Know It
Someone is watching you—not just in some abstract, disconnected way, but intimately.
They know where you sleep, where you work, where you worship. They know the exact route you take to drop your kids off at school and where you go after.
Every movement, every routine, mapped out in chilling detail.
This isn’t fiction.
It’s happening, right now, through tools like Locate X. This isn’t some exclusive, classified government technology. It’s a commercially available platform, openly sold to anyone willing to pay or bluff their way in.
With Locate X, users can draw a digital boundary—around your house, your workplace, or your favorite coffee shop—and capture the digital footprints of every phone that crosses through.
It gets worse.
Locate X doesn’t just track where you are right now. It records your movements over time. It compiles your routines, your habits, and your secrets into a clear, easy-to-follow map.
This isn’t just about targeting people at abortion clinics. This isn’t just about following criminals. It’s about everyone.
It’s about your data, your patterns, your life being up for grabs. And you likely didn’t consent to any of it.
When Surveillance Becomes a Weapon
Locate X doesn’t stop at watching.
It weaponizes your movements, turning the mundane details of your life into a vulnerability. Think about the places you consider sacred: your place of worship, your therapist’s office, the courthouse where you’re fulfilling your civic duty as a juror.
With Locate X, none of these spaces are safe.
Take Officer Justyna Maloney as an example. A police officer living in New Jersey, she became a target when a video of her working a routine call went viral. Her home address was leaked online. That alone was terrifying, but it didn’t stop there.
Using Locate X, her phone became a map of her life. The tool captured nearly 100,000 data points over months, revealing where she went, when she was home, and who she met with.
That information was used to harass her family—death threats flooded in, culminating in armed strangers circling her home.
This isn’t an isolated story. With Locate X, anyone can geofence a sensitive location—a mosque in Michigan, a courthouse in Georgia, or an abortion clinic in Alabama—and capture the phones passing through.
Those phones lead back to people. Those people become targets.
Who are the watchers? That’s where the lines blur. Sometimes it’s the government. Sometimes it’s private companies selling their tools to law enforcement or corporate contractors. Sometimes it’s even private citizens with just enough money and curiosity to play spy.
The tools don’t ask questions. They don’t care about context.
Is it surveillance for public safety? Or a way to intimidate protesters, track immigrants, or target women crossing state lines for healthcare? Is it a corporation profiting from your movements, or a bad actor hunting for leverage? You don’t know.
And the scariest part? These tools don’t need your permission.
Your phone, through its apps and ad networks, has already given them everything they need. Every location ping, every ad impression, every tiny piece of data you thought was harmless—it’s all being bundled and sold, turned into a blueprint of your life.
This isn’t a sci-fi dystopia. It’s happening. And it’s happening to all of us.
The Simple Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Data
When Emily realized her location data was being used against her, she felt helpless. A casual conversation at her favorite coffee shop led to someone rattling off details about her commute, the gym she frequented, and even the nights she spent at her partner’s place.
She hadn’t told anyone this. Her phone had.
That was Emily’s wake-up call. She’d unknowingly been broadcasting her movements to the world, courtesy of the apps she used every day. But instead of spiraling, she took action—and her story is proof that we don’t have to surrender to this surveillance economy.
Here’s the thing: the tools to safeguard your privacy are already in your pocket. They’re just buried under layers of settings you’ve probably never touched.
Here’s your step-by-step guide to making yourself harder to track:
Step 1: Disable Your Mobile Advertising ID (MAID)
Your MAID (Mobile Advertising ID) is the breadcrumb trail your phone broadcasts to ad networks, allowing them to track your movements. Disabling or deleting this ID shuts down a major source of your location data.
For Android:
Open Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security > Ads.
Tap Delete Advertising ID, then confirm.
Optional: Turn off Ad Personalization to limit targeted ads further.
For iPhone:
Open Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security > Tracking.
Toggle off Allow Apps to Request to Track to stop new tracking requests.
To revoke tracking permissions for existing apps, review the list and toggle each one off.
Navigate to Privacy > Apple Advertising, and toggle off Personalized Ads.
Step 2: Audit App Permissions
Most apps collect far more data than they need. Do a permissions audit to stop unnecessary tracking:
For Android:
Open Settings.
Navigate to Privacy & Security > Permission Manager.
Check permissions like Location, Contacts, and Camera.
Revoke any “always on” or unnecessary permissions. Choose While in Use for apps that genuinely need location access.
For iPhone:
Open Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security.
Review permissions for Location Services, Contacts, Photos, etc.
For Location Services, set apps to While Using the App or Never if they don’t need your location.
Step 3: Use Airplane Mode Strategically
When visiting sensitive locations (e.g., clinics, protests, places of worship):
Enable Airplane Mode to cut off your phone’s ability to send or receive data.
Use offline maps like Google Maps Offline or apps like Organic Maps to navigate without connectivity.
Step 4: Clean Up Your Apps
Apps are some of the worst offenders for leaking data.
Be ruthless:
Delete apps you don’t use regularly.
Replace sketchy apps with privacy-focused alternatives (e.g., Signal for messaging, Organic Maps for navigation).
Use tools like Exodus Privacy (Android) to see what trackers apps contain before downloading them.
Step 5: Use a VPN and Encrypt Your Traffic
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your internet traffic and hides your location from prying eyes:
Choose a trusted VPN provider like ProtonVPN or Mullvad.
Install the app and connect to a secure server when browsing or using apps.
Step 6: Minimize Browser Tracking
Your web browser also leaks data. Harden it:
Use privacy-focused browsers like Firefox (with strict tracking protection) or Brave.
Block third-party cookies and trackers by enabling Enhanced Tracking Protection in your browser settings.
Use browser extensions like uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger for extra protection.
Step 7: Turn Off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth When Not in Use
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth continuously ping nearby networks, exposing your location:
Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in your settings when not actively using them.
Avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi networks unless necessary (and use a VPN when you do).
Step 8: Use Separate Devices for Sensitive Activities
If possible, consider a separate, minimal phone for private activities:
Use it without a SIM card to avoid cellular tracking.
Only connect to trusted Wi-Fi networks.
Install the bare minimum apps needed for specific tasks.
Step 9: Review and Clear Your Digital Footprint
Go beyond your phone to clean up your overall digital presence:
Use tools like DeleteMe or Jumbo Privacy to remove your personal info from data brokers.
Regularly delete location history in apps like Google Maps (Settings > Location History).
What Life Looks Like When You Reclaim Your Privacy
Imagine this: You’re walking into a clinic, attending a protest, or simply going about your daily life, knowing that your every move isn’t being tracked, cataloged, and sold. Your routines belong to you again, free from the silent, ever-present watchers in the digital shadows. Reclaiming your privacy isn’t just a technical adjustment; it’s a fundamental shift in how you interact with the world.
When you take control of your digital footprint, a few incredible things start to happen.
1. Your Data Is No Longer Fuel for Surveillance
Every app you delete, every permission you revoke, and every time you turn off your MAID, you weaken the massive surveillance ecosystem.
This isn’t just about you—it’s about dismantling the infrastructure that thrives on exploiting our data. When enough people take these steps, the entire system becomes less effective.
Advertisers can’t target you. Data brokers can’t sell you. Surveillance tools like Locate X lose their grip.
Take the story of Emily, who once felt exposed after discovering how much data her phone was leaking. By following the steps outlined above, she cut off a major pipeline of her information.
Within weeks, she noticed fewer invasive ads, less personalized targeting, and, most importantly, a growing sense of security. Her data was no longer fuel for the surveillance machine.
2. You Regain a Sense of Security and Autonomy
When your privacy is intact, your life feels more like it’s yours again. You can move freely, without the creeping worry that someone is piecing together your every step.
That sense of control extends to how you use technology. Instead of feeling like a product being harvested for data, you become an active participant in protecting your autonomy.
For instance, turning on airplane mode while visiting sensitive locations, using encrypted messaging apps like Signal, or navigating with offline maps shifts the balance of power. These simple actions send a clear message: your data is yours, and you’re not giving it up without a fight.
3. You Empower Others to Protect Themselves
Your actions don’t exist in a vacuum.
When you reclaim your privacy, you set an example for those around you. Your friends and family notice when you encourage them to audit their app permissions or help them disable ad tracking on their phones. Each person you educate or assist contributes to a growing movement of people taking back their digital lives.
Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF; highly recommend checking them out) are proof of the power of collective action.
They’ve taken on data brokers, fought for stronger privacy protections, and built tools to empower individuals to protect themselves. By joining this effort—even in small ways—you become part of a larger fight for privacy rights.
4. The Psychological Benefits Are Real
Reclaiming your privacy isn’t just about avoiding surveillance; it’s about peace of mind.
Without the anxiety of being tracked or manipulated by your own devices, you’ll feel more confident in how you move through the world. There’s no substitute for the comfort that comes with knowing you’re taking steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Emily, after taking her privacy seriously, described the experience as “like locking the door to my digital life.” She stopped feeling like she was being watched everywhere she went and started focusing on what mattered most—living her life without fear.
5. You Help Change the Future
Every small step you take contributes to a larger shift in the battle for digital privacy.
When enough people resist, we challenge the surveillance economy. The tools that rely on mass data collection become less viable, and the push for stronger privacy laws gains momentum. Your actions ripple outward, showing lawmakers, corporations, and even friends and family that privacy matters.
Reclaiming your privacy isn’t a one-time fix—it’s a journey. But every small win adds up.
Imagine a world where your location data isn’t being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Where going to a protest or clinic doesn’t come with the risk of being geofenced and tracked.
Where your routines, your movements, and your choices stay your own.
That world is possible. It starts with you.
Stay Curious,
Addie LaMarr