New surveillance technology: License plate cameras now track your devices
For years, automated license plate readers have been said to focus exclusively on vehicles. That’s the argument companies like Flock Safety make, assuring that they don’t track people, only cars. However, setting aside the fact that most people have only one car and that tracking a vehicle effectively equals tracking the person, surveillance companies claim they simply take a photo, record the plate, and create a log of where the car was.
Now, new technology promises to significantly expand this concept by linking the people inside the car to the vehicle itself. And it does this by tracking things like your phone, headphones, fitness tracker, and even your pet.
SignalTrace turns license plate readers into device trackers
According to an investigation by 404 Media, surveillance company Leonardo is promoting a product called SignalTrace, which extends the capabilities of traditional automated license plate readers. Instead of simply recording a vehicle’s license plate, the system is designed to collect signals from nearby electronic devices and link them to specific vehicles over time.
This includes Bluetooth-enabled devices such as smartphones, wireless headphones, fitness trackers, and smartwatches. Leonardo’s product materials also indicate that the technology can detect signals from car systems, Wi-Fi devices, RFID tags, and even pet microchips. By analyzing which devices regularly travel with a particular car, SignalTrace creates what Leonardo calls an “electronic fingerprint” tied to that vehicle.
License plates can be changed, your devices cannot
The practical implications are obvious. Even if a car changes its license plates or removes them entirely, investigators could potentially identify the same vehicle by looking for the set of devices that regularly accompany it. The product documentation likely states that the system stores correlation data for future searches and analysis, allowing law enforcement (and therefore anyone with unauthorized access) to create historical records linking devices, locations, and vehicles.
In many ways, this is the next step in an already underway trend. License plate reader manufacturers are increasingly looking for ways to identify not just cars but the people associated with them. For example, Flock Safety records more than just plate information. While traditional ALPR systems track where a car has been, SignalTrace seems focused on creating a permanent digital signature for the passengers themselves.
Supporters will argue that such technology can help solve crimes and identify suspects trying to avoid detection. Critics, however, call it a significant expansion of government surveillance capabilities, especially given that many of the tracked devices belong to people who may have no connection to criminal investigations. Abuse of traditional ALPR systems is already common.
Leonardo has not publicly commented on the technology beyond its marketing materials. Nevertheless, if SignalTrace sees widespread use, the debate around license plate readers may soon shift from the question “where was your car” to the question “where is your digital fingerprint.” And those with access to this data will no longer worry about which car you’re in, because your fingerprint exists independently.
Image Credits: Leonardo
This technology effectively blurs the line between tracking a car and tracking a person. While previously you could change license plates to avoid surveillance, now, carrying a smartphone, headphones, or even a fitness bracelet leaves a unique digital trail that cannot simply be “removed.” This sets a precedent where law enforcement can identify a person not by their license plate but by the aggregate of their personal gadgets, raising serious questions about privacy and potential abuse, especially given that such data can be accumulated and stored without a warrant.