Most people don’t get the idea of how useful the location data of the general public can be for some companies out there, and that’s why they ignore cases like this Life360 Lawsuit. But we’ll try to put everything into perspective here and will let you know how serious a matter this is. So, if you don’t know what is going on with Life360 at the moment and what they are in the middle of this lawsuit, then just keep on reading. Here we go.
The Tile Tracker Lawsuit
Life360 is the parent company of Tile, a brand familiar with its location-based products. These devices aid in locating lost household items such as keys or wallets. So it comes as a surprise that a legal action was taken against Life360 and Tile in California in August 2023. According to the complaint from the plaintiffs, Rebecca Ireland-Gordy and Shannon Ireland-Gordy, Tile trackers were not only used for stalking but deceitfully disguised as safety devices.
The case represents the situation as such that the use of these tracking devices in an illegal manner is so simple, and that it is the main reason for the lawsuit. Furthermore, the possibility is not only hypothetical since there are various legal documents and articles that confirm these violations.
Things went downhill when the news was leaked that Tile had joined hands with Amazon back in 2021. By virtue of this collaboration, Tile gadgets were able to connect to Amazon Echo devices and Ring cameras, which meant that people could be located in the vicinity, at almost any time, without delay.
And that’s not all.
In addition, the suit claims that Tile placed ads on mature content web pages. Based on what people wrote on the websites, they said Tile gadgets helped them keep track of women. Nevertheless, the company still had the ads going.
Life360 Accused of Selling Precise Location Data
Moving on to a different suit, this case from January 2023, and yet another one in California. In this instance, Life360 is alleged to be providing comprehensive location data for a third party to use without the necessary consent from the user.
And if to say in detail, we would mean very precise data of users’ moves, the time of the visit, and the frequency of it. Such data embraces the areas of LGBTQ+ centers, churches, domestic violence shelters, and medical clinics, places that are very sensitive and expose the person’s private life.
Life360 was accused of secretly selling user location data without their consent in 2021 and subsequently admitted that the data was shared with about 12 third-party companies. They announced that they would end the sale of accurate location data, but with the exception of one company that would still receive the data.
The Arity Angle, Like What About Selling Your Driving Behavior?
Another big issue is Life360’s driving data. The idea of the app monitoring your speed, the frequency of your braking, and the fact that your driving is erratic makes sense to you, doesn’t it?
As it happens, the data might have been distributed to a business named Arity. The company Arity, which is an Allstate insurance subsidiary, collects the data and then trades it mostly to insurance firms.
The law firm Keller Rohrback ran an inquiry into this and came up with a figure that there might be more than 45 million people whose data was compromised. The affected group is not only those who use Life360 but also the users of other applications, such as GasBuddy and MyRadar. These users believed that these applications were assisting them in saving fuel or supervising the driving of their teenagers, whereas their behavioral data was being sold to make money.
