Data Broker Research
Location Data: The Billion-Dollar Surveillance Market
Your phone isn’t just a communication device — it’s a real-time tracking beacon. Location data brokers harvest billions of GPS points every day, mapping your movements with alarming precision. We research and expose the companies profiting from this trade.
Understanding the Location Data Landscape
History of Location Tracking
- From GPS satellites to the rise of mobile apps
- Evolved from convenience to global surveillance tool
Location Marketing & Data Exploitation
- Advertisers leverage “location, location, location”
- Privacy often sacrificed for targeted ads
Where Location Data Brokers Operate
- Standalone location data brokers
- Bundled into massive consumer profiles
How Your Data Becomes a Commodity
Every piece of personal data has a journey — from the moment it’s collected to the point it’s sold and resold across the globe. We trace this digital trail to expose the hidden markets that profit from your location, behavior, and identity. Understanding this chain is the first step to breaking it.
Eight Brokers You Were Never Meant to Know
Our “Obscure Eight” list features the most influential, shadowy location data brokers. They operate quietly, avoiding public attention while feeding vast amounts of your data into commercial and government systems.
Deep-Dive Profiles
- Documented behavior patterns of each broker
- Historical activities & operational models
Independent Research Links
- Curated links to investigative journalism
- References from reputable privacy organizations
Ecosystem Analysis
- Their role in the larger broker network
- How they connect to data supply chains
Talk to a Data Privacy Expert
Credit Headers: The Unseen Data Firehose
Credit headers — containing your name, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and even SSNs — are sold by credit bureaus to marketers, investigators, and data brokers, often without your consent. This unregulated trade fuels identity theft and erodes privacy.
What They Are: Identifying info extracted from your credit file
Why It Matters: Data is widely shared, increasing your exposure
Regulatory Gaps: Loopholes like the “Resellers Exemption” allow unchecked sales
Current Action: CFPB proposals to restrict sales, but industry pushback is fierce
Mapping the Data Broker Supply Chain
From location pings to credit headers, data flows through a dense network of primary collectors, aggregators, and resellers. We map this ecosystem, revealing how your personal information changes hands multiple times — and how each step adds risk.
Broker Network Diagrams
- Visual maps showing key players in the data trade
- Relationships between collectors, aggregators, and resellers
Data Flow Mapping Reports
- Step-by-step tracking of how your data changes hands
- Risk assessment at each stage of the supply chain
Experts Discuss Data Privacy
Safeguarding Your Privacy: How to Delete Your Data
David Mauro interviews data privacy advocate Merry Marwig and Obscure IQ founder Jeff Jockisch about the hidden world of data brokers — how they operate, and practical steps you can take to delete your personal data and protect your privacy.
David Mauro interviews data privacy advocate Merry Marwig and Obscure IQ founder Jeff Jockisch about the hidden world of data brokers — how they operate, and practical steps you can take to delete your personal data and protect your privacy.