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"Revelations that both iPhones and Android phones store location data in unencrypted form has caused quite the stir over the last week, but if you were one of those contributing your outrage to the uproar, wait until you hear what TomTom has been doing with your GPS data.\r\n\r\nIn an apparent effort to avoid the PR disaster that's stricken Apple and Google over this issue, TomTom has pre-emptively released information about its sharing of customer location data. The data it collects is most prominently used to help route customers around traffic jams, but it turns out that it's also sent to law enforcement (in anonymous, aggregated form) so that they can prepare speed cameras and old-fashioned roadside stakeouts in hotspots where TomTom data reveals speeding is more common.\r\n\r\nPersonally, navigation device manufacturers helping police find speeding hot spots with anonymous data doesn't sound so bad to me. Call me a grandma, but in my opinion, the fewer speeders and drunk drivers on the road, the better, even if those people are getting themselves caught, contributing to their own eventual downfall on the roads they frequent.\r\n\r\nUpdate: TomTom has responded to reports, issuing a statement documenting what it does with your data:\r\n\r\nDear TomTom customer,\r\n\r\nCustomers come first at TomTom.\r\n\r\nWhen you use one of our products we ask for your permission to collect travel time information on\r\nan anonymous basis. The vast majority of you do indeed grant us that permission. When you connect\r\nyour TomTom to a computer we aggregate this information and use it for a variety of applications,\r\nmost importantly to create high quality traffic information and to route you around traffic jams.\r\n\r\nWe also make this information available to local governments and authorities. It helps them to\r\nbetter understand where congestion takes place, where to build new roads and how to make\r\nroads safer.\r\n\r\nWe are actively promoting the use of this information because we believe we can help make roads\r\nsafer and less congested.\r\n\r\nWe are now aware that the police have used traffic information that you have helped to create to\r\nplace speed cameras at dangerous locations where the average speed is higher than the legally\r\nallowed speed limit. We are aware a lot of our customers do not like the idea and we will look at\r\nif we should allow this type of usage.\r\n\r\nThis is what we really do with the data:\r\n\r\n\tWe ask for your permission to collect historical data. You can opt in or opt out and can disable\r\nthe data collection function at any time.\r\n\tIf you are using a LIVE device, you receive traffic information in real time and you automatically\r\ncontribute to generating traffic information.\r\n\tWe make all traffic data anonymous. We can never trace it back to you or your device.\r\n\tWe turn anonymous data into traffic information to give you the fastest route available and route\r\nyou through traffic jams in real time.\r\n\tWe are working with road authorities around the world to use anonymous traffic information to help\r\nmake roads flow more efficiently and safer.\r\n\tOur goal is to create a driver community capable of reducing traffic congestion for everyone.\r\n\r\nSincerely,\r\n\r\nHarold Goddijn\r\nCEO, TomTom\r\n\r\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2011/04/29/speeding-with-a-tomtom-youre-helping-law-enforcement-catch-you/>