Police Can Track Your Phone Through Ads in Weather and Gaming Apps

A weather app asks for your location so it can show you the forecast. If that location makes its way into the advertising market, it could also help police figure out where you live.

A Nov. 5 Bloomberg investigation highlighted Webloc, a tool sold by surveillance vendor Penlink that lets police search phone location data collected through advertising technology used in everyday apps, including weather apps and games.^[1]

Thanks for subscribing!

Please check your email for your first message.

Never miss the privacy news that affects you.

Join thousands who get the latest security news, scams, and policy changes every week, right to their inbox.

Sign me up

By submitting this form you agree to receive emails from All About Cookies and to the privacy policy and terms.

How can police track a phone through ads?

Some apps share location data with advertising companies. Those records can pair a set of coordinates and a timestamp with an advertising ID, a code that helps companies recognize the same device across apps. Data brokers and other companies can collect and resell those records.

Investigators using Webloc can search for devices that appeared in an area at a particular time and then look up where else those devices have been. Documents reviewed by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab described access to records from up to 500 million devices worldwide, with up to three years of location history.

A record can be revealing even without a name. In Tucson, Arizona, police described using Webloc to identify where a person and his partner lived and worked. Think about what a week of your own location history could show, from where you spend the night to which clinic you visit.

In June, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives canceled its Webloc contract after lawmakers questioned its use of commercial location data. Citizen Lab separately identified Webloc customers at the federal, state, and local levels.

How to limit location tracking on iPhone and Android

Start with the apps that have access to your location. If you only need a forecast for your city, try entering it manually and turning off location access. For apps that do need your location, like maps, consider allowing it only while you’re using the app.

• iPhone: Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and select an app. Choose Never or While Using the App. If the app only needs your general area, turn off Precise Location. For more controls, see our guide to iPhone privacy settings.
• Android: Go to Settings > Location > App location permissions and select an app. Choose Don’t allow, Ask every time, or Allow only while using the app. Turn off Use precise location where you can. Menu names can vary by phone. See our guide to managing location access on Android.

Then check your ad settings. On iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. On Android, search Settings for Delete advertising ID. The California Privacy Protection Agency’s mobile tracking guide also explains how to request deletion of precise location data from brokers.

Changing these settings limits what apps can collect going forward. Any location records already held by a data broker are a separate matter.

4.8

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

See Price

On LifeLock's website

2026 Editors’ Choice

Best ID Theft Service for Comprehensive Monitoring

Identity Protection

LifeLock

• ID theft protection with U.S.-based restoration specialists and data removal services
• At least $1.05 million in ID theft insurance on every plan, with the Total plan covering up to $3 million
• Three-bureau credit monitoring available on Advanced and Total tiers

Author Details

Thomas Kent

About the Author

Thomas Kent is a multi-disciplined reporter with over a decade of experience covering online platforms, digital trends, and consumer-facing tech. Tom focuses on digital privacy, data tracking, and user behavior, with a particular interest in how cookies, online surveillance, and platform design shape the modern internet experience. His reporting takes a research-driven, news-focused approach, translating complex technical topics into clear, accessible insights.