Mobile Applications Tracking Wireless User Location

Location-based services enabled by broadband wireless access play an increasingly important role in people's daily navigation and coordination. Location-based applications frequently report user location to Internet servers, and location accuracy is essential to the utility of these services. However, regular and accurate location updates impact efficient usage of network resources and also users' privacy, which is not directly observed by the users. In this paper, the authors conducted a large scale measurement study to understand location accuracy and communication frequency of such applications. They found that while most location reports are accurate enough, some applications run in the background, reporting user locations with a higher accuracy and frequency than needed for the user's purpose.