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What software do police use to track cell phones?

The app Fog Reveal allows police to search billions of phone records to track people's locations, which are often called "patterns of life" by law enforcement.

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Law enforcement across the U.S., including North Carolina, have been using an obscure phone tracking tool to follow people's movements without search warrants.

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In some North Carolina cities, police have the ability to track your cellphone usage without a search warrant. The app Fog Reveal allows police to search billions of phone records to track people's locations, which are often called "patterns of life" by law enforcement. Attorneys say this is rarely cited in court, making it hard to defend their clients if the police are tracking them without their knowledge. Some people argue this is a violation of basic rights, but others think it's useful and say it's been used to solve murders and arrest people connected to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The company was developed by two former high-ranking Department of Homeland Security officials under former President George W. Bush. It relies on advertising identification numbers, which Fog officials say are culled from popular cellphone apps such as Waze, Starbucks and hundreds of others that target ads based on a person’s movements and interests, according to police emails. That information is then sold to companies like Fog. “It’s sort of a mass surveillance program on a budget,” said Bennett Cyphers, a special adviser at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital privacy rights advocacy group. Davin Hall, a former crime data analysis supervisor for the Greensboro Police Department, is a vocal critic of the tactic. "The capability that it had for bringing up just anybody in any area whether they were in public or at home seemed to me to be a very clear violation of the Fourth Amendment," Hall told the Associated Press. "I just feel angry and betrayed and lied to." Hall resigned in 2020 after months of concerns about the department's use of Fog to police attorneys and the city council. Greensboro officials acknowledged Fog's use and initially defended it, with the police department saying it allowed its subscription to expire earlier this year because it didn't "independently benefit investigations."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Will a VPN mess up my phone?

Are VPNs Safe to Use on a Phone? The short answer is yes – it's perfectly safe to use a VPN on your phone. That is, so long as you choose a trustworthy app. A quality VPN app will let you change the server through which you connect to the internet, in effect, masking your location.

Are VPNs Safe to Use on a Phone?

The short answer is yes – it's perfectly safe to use a VPN on your phone. That is, so long as you choose a trustworthy app. A quality VPN app will let you change the server through which you connect to the internet, in effect, masking your location. This can let you access content that's locked to certain regions, or maintain a degree of privacy while online.

So, if a VPN is designed to make your internet connection safer, what risks could a VPN bring?

Fake VPN scams

VPNs that log your data

VPNs selling your browsing details to advertising partners

Significantly reduced browsing speeds

Your main concern is simple – you need to trust the VPN provider itself to look after your data. You also need to be certain that the app you are using is a genuine VPN, and not itself a scam. In an ironic twist, many online hackers rely on scamming those who are working the hardest to avoid scams. This means that consumers should be wary of free anti-virus installers, fake ‘alert' pop-ups, and, yes, VPN software. Even legitimate VPNs can get up to some pretty shady practice, such as monitoring your browsing data or selling it to advertising partners. You may be bombarded with unwanted ads while using the service, for instance. Plus, a poor quality VPN can cause appalling slowdown. By nature, a VPN has an impact on your browsing speeds. However, the best VPN services (inevitably, paid-for) invest to ensure this isn't an undue impact. Always check and double-check a VPN provider before committing to it, and only use the ones you trust. Our research has shown that NordVPN is an excellent choice, thanks to its easy to use interface, and extensive features.

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