A new surveillance technology could allow law enforcement agencies to track not only vehicles, but also phones, smartwatches, wireless earbuds and other electronic devices linked to people inside those vehicles, according to recent reports.
The technology, called SignalTrace, was developed by defense contractor Leonardo and is designed to work with automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, which are already widely used to record vehicle license plates.
According to the product sheet cited by 404 Media, SignalTrace combines license plate recognition data with identifiers collected from devices such as mobile phones, Bluetooth-enabled wearables and RFID-enabled devices, including workplace access badges and pet microchips, to create a unique, trackable “electronic fingerprint” that can aid in the identification of suspects or witnesses.
“When multiple devices consistently move together with a vehicle, SignalTraceʼs algorithms link them to that vehicleʼs license plate and time-stamped location data. This correlation provides investigators with another layer of actionable intelligence, even if a suspect changes or removes a plate,” the sheet reads.
Privacy advocates have long raised concerns about automated license plate readers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has said that repeatedly capturing images of vehicles at different locations can reveal a person’s “pattern of life” and even identify people they regularly associate with.
The company has not yet commented on privacy concerns surrounding SignalTrace.
Leonardo received a patent for the technology behind SignalTrace in 2024. In a press release announcing the milestone, the company defended the technology, saying it “captures device frequencies emitted into the air” and “does not decrypt or capture the contents of the devices or their communications.”
On its website, Leonardo also said that “SignalTrace was designed to ensure it does not infringe on the rights of individuals.”
It added that “the SignalTrace system simply stores data until a specific request is made of the system by an investigator” and is used only after a crime has occurred.
Leonardo’s customers include police departments, security agencies and other government organizations.
Next are imbedded ID chips at birth
If it catches criminals, I am cool with it.
The only question is what might become a crime in the future?
The cops sat around while Flock watched armed kids carry out an attack, while on the other side of the country, jumped on a musician over traffic tickets whole his car was getting worked on.
And that’s before we talk about cops who got in trouble for stalking women with it.
Totally worth it.
This should require a warrant. It’s one thing to request the tracking of a vehicle under exigent circumstances to save lives, but to track electronic devices, such as a phone requires a warrant.
as though we still have 4A rights. many were removed under the two Patriot Acts, and continue to be eroded by the lack of citizen’s response like removing these tracker/cameras.
At what point are tech companies considered to be violating the federal wire tap act.
As long as people who actually care about invasion of privacy outnumber the Flock cameras, there is hope.
Well, if it scans chips in pets, does that mean you can enter your chip number and it can give the location of a pet wherever it is???
A chip in a pet already has a number and ID. That information gives your address and everything about you and your family. It’s just a sure new way to spy on the American people. More damn corruption.
Dystopian level BS. Wholly unacceptable.
This is just one more way for the government to track us, invade in our lives, and to exert further control over us.
This is what those massive data centers are being built for.
We are giving them the money that they use to buy the bullets to kill us with.