What Citizen Lab: Law Enforcement Used Webloc to Track 500 Millio Means for Makati Businesses

Ad networks tracked roughly 500 million devices globally — including phones in Makati BGC offices — without users ever knowing.

If your team uses mobile data for work, that location history already exists somewhere. The question is who can buy access to it.

Your Office Phones Are Already Broadcasting Location Data

Every app that requests location permission feeds data into a global ad ecosystem. That data gets aggregated, sold, and — as Citizen Lab documented — purchased by law enforcement and intelligence agencies through commercial tools like Webloc.

Your employees didn't consent to government surveillance. They consented to a weather app.

What Makati SMBs Should Audit Right Now

You don't need to be a BPO or financial firm to be exposed. Any team using personal Android or iOS devices for work is contributing to this data pool.

• Audit which apps have location access on work devices
• Disable background location for all non-essential apps
• Enforce a basic Mobile Device Management (MDM) policy
• Separate personal and work profiles on Android devices
• Review your BYOD policy — or write one if it doesn't exist

Less Exposure Means Less Risk to Your Clients and Staff

This isn't about hiding wrongdoing. It's about controlling what your business inadvertently broadcasts about where your people are and when.

A logistics company tracking deliveries across EDSA already has sensitive route data on employee phones — that data doesn't need to sit inside an ad network too.

If you want a practical privacy and device audit for your Makati team, see what WNS5.tech covers on our services page.