Discover Yahoo! With Your Friends

Explore news, videos, and much more based on what your friends are reading and watching. Publish your own activity and retain full control.

To get started, first

YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Malls plan to track shopper locations through cell phones on Black Friday

    By Mike Flacy | Digital Trends – Wed, Nov 23, 2011

    Starting on Black Friday and running through the entire shopping season, the Promenade Temecula shopping mall in southern California and Short Pump Town Center shopping mall in Richmond, Virginia plan to track customers locations within the mall by monitoring cell phone signals as reported by CNN earlier today. The malls intend to follow the path of each shopper and collect data to understand typical shopping patterns. While the malls claim that the data collected will be anonymous, mall officials will be able to tell which portion of the mall is unpopular, the amount of time that people spend inside a particular store and which stores compliment each other based off customer behavior.

    The malls do plan to alert customers of the tracking program and encourage shoppers to turn off the cell phone while shopping. However, it’s unlikely that customers will turn off their main device for communication and busy shoppers may miss the notifications posted within the mall.  Forest City Commercial Management is the company that manages both malls and equates the tracking program to monitoring migratory patterns of birds. The name of the tracking system is FootPath Technology and uses a group of antennas that monitor the unique identification number used by each phone while the customer travels through the shopping mall.

    It’s impossible for FootPath Technology to tie identifying personal details to the cell phones without the cooperation of wireless providers like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. The system also cannot capture personal information being transmitted from the phones like text messages or photos. The system is designed by a British company called Path Intelligence and has been rolled out within shopping centers in both Europe and Australia. Both Home Depot and JCPenney are both considering rolling out the tracking system in stores, but haven’t made any official announcements regarding a potential launch. 

    This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

    More from Digital Trends

    Verizon Wireless starts tracking and sharing sites that users visit

    New document reveals which carriers are collecting the most data and for how long

    Sprint iPhone still in the works, possibly available this summer?

    The big four phone carriers spill on their location and customer data collection policies

     
    • praxis
      praxis  •  Farmington, United States  •  6 mths ago
      They should be legally obligated to inform customers when they are tracking their movement. They should also be requried to allow them to opt out. Since, I'm sure, they will not allow people to opt out, we will have to opt out ourselves by shopping elsewhere.
      • marty
        marty 6 mths ago
        Opt out = Shut off phone.. Not that difficult, and seriously, what can this hurt?????
      • Granny
        Granny 6 mths ago
        I just treasure my privacy too much to allow a stranger to watch my shopping!
    • A Yahoo! User  •  6 mths ago
      As if they couldn't just ask their customers to fill out a servey.
    • Mark
      Mark  •  6 mths ago
      This is some SCARRY #$%$ people. Right to privacy? Fa geta bout it.
    • DB Cooper
      DB Cooper  •  6 mths ago
      CREEPY
    • steve c
      steve c  •  Middletown, United States  •  6 mths ago
      If I had a heads up that a store or shopping mall was doing this to people, I wouldn't shop there. Im more scared of the information of this technology falling into the hands of telemarketers. If the shopping mall sells the information on where I go and what I look at, itts only a matter of time before I start getting unwanted calls on my cell phone from people trying to sell me crap similar to what I was looking at in the mall. If there is a buck to be made from this, someone is already working on it.
    • SuperG
      SuperG  •  Troutdale, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Step one to an Orwellian nightmare...always say that what you are doing doesn't identify anyone. Step two, get the victims to believe it. Within 20 years it will be mandatory that we have chips inserted in our bodies.
    • Sean A
      Sean A  •  6 mths ago
      "It’s impossible for FootPath Technology to tie identifying personal details to the cell phones without the cooperation of wireless providers like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint."

      Actually, with cooperation of the store, you have security cam footage, AND the CHECKOUT REGISTER that the credit card was used at and what time. So, who,where,when.
      Going to be sooo much fun, when data starts being used in divorce proceedings, when the wife finds out the husband was in the lingerie section with her best friend.
      Plus, even if illegal for government agencies to use such technology, have no problem buying data from outside company that did the work.
    • Rick Perry is not in Texa ...
      Rick Perry is not in Texa ...  •  New York, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Creep, scary, and another reason I will never go to a shopping mall for anything.
    • Indentured servant
      Indentured servant  •  6 mths ago
      before any covert moves , turn off the cell phone and remove the battery , cell towers can triangulate and calculate TIME, SPEED , AND DIRECTION of travel. DO NOT MAKE OR RECEIVE CALLS AT THAT TIME.
    • Nikola
      Nikola  •  Denver, United States  •  6 mths ago
      easy answer, kill the cell phone, Phone don't own me!
    • The Burns
      The Burns  •  6 mths ago
      Scary folks... scary.
      And wrong.
    • Curious
      Curious  •  6 mths ago
      This is rude. If they need to know which sides of the mall are unpopular, let someone sit on a chair and count the foot traffic. Soon after this, cell phones will be followed as we drive, which gas stations do we drive to, where do we eat while out shopping, etc.

      If the 2012 end of world myth is not true, I hope there is something out there that is so this world, our society can have some simple, uncomplicated times - no politics, no me vs you, no spying. Just back to consideration and respect for one another.
    • Bob
      Bob  •  Equality, United States  •  6 mths ago
      AND THERE YOU HAVE IT1.BIG BROTHER SHOPPING WITH YOU,LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER,2. you canot guarantee privacy...3,* remember,about the ''mark of the beast?as told of in the bible?,well it is in your hand or your forehead--well the cell phone is in your pockte,and you hold it to your head.... welcome to the end of the most personal freedom...''shopping ''......(good day commrad's)
    • Granny
      Granny  •  6 mths ago
      I don't know of any store, mall, or any shopping center that has anything that I want that badly!
    • The Great Rage
      The Great Rage  •  6 mths ago
      Big Brother is watching you
    • marty
      marty  •  Fairmont, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Although this is definitely weird, what is the big deal??? how could this possibly hurt ANYONE?
      • Granny
        Granny 6 mths ago
        so, you wouldn't care if some stranger followed you everywhere to "spy" on you?
     Post a comment
    [ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
    [ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

    News For You

    Loading...