Chapter 4 - Location Tracking
As some states outlaw abortion services, people may find themselves traveling to obtain them. If police want to obtain evidence that someone traveled out of state to obtain an abortion, an individual's cell phone may be a treasure trove of information. Cell phones have several ways of figuring where you are - GPS, cell tower location, Wi-Fi lookup, and Bluetooth tracking.
GPS is a very accurate way to calculate a device's location based on signals received from satellites. Phone apps constantly receive an updated GPS location in order to present you content based on your location - ads for local restaurants, weather reports, etc. If you do not want your location tracked, for Android devices, go into Settings -> Location, and turn off "Use this location". If you are an iPhone user, go into Settings -> Location Services and turn off Location Services.
When a phone connects to a cell tower, the wireless provider has a record of that connection. In this way, if law enforcement wants to see if you were in an area, one way would be to seize the records from your wireless provider and see which cell towers your phone connected to. The only way to prevent these records from being generated is to ensure your phone does not connect to a cell tower - keep it powered off. "Airplane Mode" will usually prevent your phone from connecting to a cell tower, but it is easy to accidentally turn off.
Any time you connect to a Wi-Fi network, your phone remembers the MAC address (like a serial number) of that Wi-Fi access point, and possibly shares that information with Google / Apple. Using tools like WIGLE.net, you can enter the Wi-Fi access point's MAC address and see its location. So, if you told law enforcement that you weren't in a certain city, but your phone's logs show that you were connected to a Wi-Fi network in that city, that could be used as evidence against you.
Bluetooth tracking is a newer method of finding a phone's location. All phones, Android and Apple, have Bluetooth. Bluetooth can be used to track devices like AirTags and Tiles. Bluetooth, however, can also be used to track the phone. Anytime a Bluetooth connection is established the MAC address of the Bluetooth devices are exchanged. On Android devices, this can be prevented by turning Bluetooth off. On iPhones, however, this is far more complicated. iPhones keep their Bluetooth, UWB, and NFC chips powered on even if the phone is powered off - this is to facilitate Apple's "Find My iPhone" service. This could be used by law enforcement to track someone even if the phone is powered off. To disable powered off tracking., select "Settings" and then tap on your Apple ID name at the top of the screen. Select "Find My" and "Find My iPhone". Disable "Find My Network" - a pop up will appear confirming your decision - select "Disable". Your phone's ability to track you while powered off is now disabled until you re-enable it.
Many apps request permission to use location data - you can choose to either grant or deny the requests. It is always best to deny location permissions to any applications that do not absolutely need it.
Many vehicles, both new and used, contain GPS systems that track and store the vehicle's location. Police can obtain this location data from many vehicles, providing proof of someone's location and when they were there. It is *extremely* difficult to disable tracking or erase this data from a vehicle. The best method to deal with this is to simply not use the vehicle for any trips that law enforcement might have an interest in. Consider borrowing an older car that does not have GPS tracking or use mass transit if possible. Avoid taxis, Uber, and Lyft because that will be tied to your ID with location data stored somewhere. Trains and buses still leave a digital trail, but at least you’re not getting off them right at the location. In today’s environment, this is probably going to be one of those risks you can’t do a lot about.
Please remember that any car with a Bluetooth connection will remember the phones that have been connected to it. If you were to say you had not been in a car, but the car's Bluetooth connection shows that your phone had been connected to the car, that could be evidence used against you. Also, many Bluetooth connections share contacts and text messages with the car - this could also be used against you.
Another aspect of travel that needs to be considered is the use of automatic toll paying systems like EZPass. These automatic toll systems keep records of every vehicle that passes through them - law enforcement can use this information as evidence when trying to prove someone was in a certain location. Some states have removed many of the toll locations, and in their place is a bank of high speed cameras hanging above the highway. This is great as far as avoiding traffic jams, because you don’t have to slow down anymore, but it means every car is photographed. It takes a picture of your license plate, and if that is tied to an account with EZ Pass, it’ll get deducted. If not, they use DMV records to mail you a toll bill.