Beresford and Stajano define location privacy as “the ability to prevent other parties from learning one’s current or past location.” This definition specifies that the data subject—or the person whose location data is affected—should have control over the use and subsequent use of their data, which can be viewed as an extension of the previously presented definition of privacy.
The device’s physical location can be determined using one of three methods: (1) satellite navigation systems like the Global Positioning System (GPS), (2) mobile carrier antennas, and (3) wireless networks.
A device can use any combination of these three methods to determine its most accurate location. A combination of methods improves positioning accuracy but consumes more power, reducing the device’s battery life (Zhang et. al., 2020).
When the equipment to be identified is outside, satellite navigation systems, which provide a mechanism for autonomous geographical location, allow positions to be calculated with an accuracy of just a few centimetres (European Space Agency, 2016). The accuracy for free access public use is presently approximately one metre radius (Dardari et. al., 2015). When the signal is obstructed by obstacles such as mountains or buildings, the accuracy falls, and it lowers dramatically in inside conditions (Dardari et. al., 2015).
Sources: Maija Elina Poikela (2020). Perceived Privacy in Location-Based Mobile System. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34171-8