CLEVELAND — We all know our phones hold a treasure trove of information – and trust me, politicians know that too. That’s explains the reason a 2016 republican primary candidate used Bluetooth beacons installed in political lawn signs to track your location and gather other data it could access.
This could happen as you walk near or drive down a street with campaign signs in the yards.
How does it work? The tech primarily relies on the Bluetooth connection on your phone. If your phone is near a beacon, the beacon pings your phone to collect data, and can trigger notifications like telling you to donate money or when to vote.
Beaconstac, a company that sells the technology, wouldn’t say which candidate made the purchase. But we know President Donald Trump's campaign is on board with the tech. The privacy policy on Mr. Trump's campaign page says they collect information “based on your location and your device’s proximity to 'beacons' and other similar proximity systems.” What information they collect is uncertain. But there are ways you can stop it from happening.
The first line of defense would be to disable Bluetooth on your phone. But that’s not an option if you use wireless headphones or connect to your car to use speakerphone or play music.
The next best method is update to the latest operating system on your phone. The latest versions of iOS and Android require apps to specifically ask for permission to communicate using Bluetooth.
Lastly, if you know you have an app that uses beacon technology, delete it. You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting your data.
Use of this technology was first reported by Mashable.