I found this creepy article from Nova Scotia about tracking cellphone traffic. Apparently, the company hired to do the analysis can tell someone’s age and income level from cellphone data.

  • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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    7 days ago

    Apparently, the company hired to do the analysis can tell someone’s age and income level from cellphone data.

    According to Environics own website they use cellular data in combination with other databases to infer those demographic signals.

    It doesn’t use only cell data to determine your age or income category.

    • I should have realized other data needs to be accessed to get someone’s age and income.

      Still, the cell data must have revealed the users’ true identity in order for another database to be searched.

      • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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        7 days ago

        Not necessarily.

        A phone that goes to a university campus for a few hours each day then to a mall for 4 hours every evening will imply a much different level of income than one that goes to bankers row on Bay Street during the day, and also goes to some international destination for a week at a time several times a year.

        All without needing to know exactly who is paying the phone bill, or who is carrying the phone.