What is geo data?
Definition
Geo data is information that ties something to a place on Earth. In privacy, it usually means location data from your phone, car or apps that shows where you are or have been.
- Category
- Data
- Also called
- geodata, location data, geospatial data
- Last updated
Geo data covers any data with a location attached: an address, GPS coordinates, a Wi-Fi network you joined, a photo tagged with where it was taken. Mapping and delivery services depend on it. In privacy, the version that matters is data about you: where your phone or car has been, and how often.
Where it comes from
Apps with location permission, connected cars, photos with location tags, and advertising systems all produce it. Data brokers can then buy and sell it.
Why regulators care
The US Federal Trade Commission treats precise location data as sensitive, because a trail of locations can show where you live and work, and visits to places such as clinics or places of worship. The FTC has used Section 5 of the FTC Act, which covers unfair or deceptive practices, against companies that handled it badly:
- It sued the data broker Kochava over location data that could reveal visits to reproductive health clinics and similar sites. A May 2026 settlement bars Kochava and its subsidiary from selling sensitive location data without affirmative express consent.
- Orders in December 2024 against Mobilewalla and Gravy Analytics restrict the sale of sensitive location data tied to sites such as health clinics, churches and military installations.
- The FTC finalized an order in January 2026 requiring General Motors and OnStar to get affirmative express consent before collecting or sharing connected vehicle data, for 20 years.
Geo data vs. an address
Your home address is one fixed piece of location information. Geo data is the moving record: dozens of points a day can show routines that no single address reveals.
How to protect yourself
- 1
Review which apps can see your location
In your phone's settings, change location access to While Using or Never for apps that do not need it, and turn off precise location where a rough one is enough.
- 2
Turn off location tags on photos
Disable location in your camera settings, and check what a photo reveals before you post it.
- 3
Check your car's data settings
Look through the connected services settings and decline data sharing you do not want.
- 4
Remove your listed address
Serus finds where your address and phone number are listed and removes them. See our data broker guides for the manual route.
See where your personal data is exposed
Serus finds it on data brokers and people-search sites and removes it.
Frequently asked
Is geolocation data personal data?
Often, yes. If location data can be linked to you, for example through a phone's advertising ID, it is generally treated as personal information, and regulators such as the FTC treat precise location as sensitive.
Can apps track my location when I am not using them?
Only if you grant that permission. On most phones you can set an app to While Using or Never in the location settings.
Can I stop companies selling my location data?
Limiting app permissions stops new data from being collected. Data already sold is harder to pull back, which is why consent rules are a focus of FTC action.
Sources
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