Bsightful

growth-negative

Israeli surveillance vendors, including Bsightful, are using location data obtained from smartphone apps to provide surveillance services. Bsightful is backed by Verint, a major surveillance vendor. The surveillance companies collect the data through a Demand Side Platform (DSP) in the mobile advertising ecosystem. They use the data to create a software tool for government customers, allowing them to search for individuals or areas. The use of location data for surveillance purposes has raised privacy concerns and has led to Apple and Google removing apps containing location-grabbing code from their app stores. The article highlights the lack of oversight and the potential invasion of privacy caused by the use of commercial location data for surveillance.