Digital marketing is a competitive field. It takes plenty of effort to stand out from the crowd and create an effective marketing campaign.

That data can consist of various parameters, which often causes plenty of concern among the targeted users.

Consumers tend to feel more vulnerable about their data privacy than they did a few years ago. One of the significant concerns about those people is from data utilized for marketing purposes.

This guide will focus on geotargeting and how users can protect themselves from companies gathering similar data.

What Is Geotargeting?

Geotargeting refers to companies collecting the necessary information from their customers that lets them determine the customers’ precise or general location. While most people relate that to obtaining GPS data, there are other methods that companies can use to determine your location. Usually, local businesses and new franchises such as restaurants and stores utilize that information to improve footfalls for their business.

How it Works

The methods of geotargeting can vary for each business, depending on their marketing or outreach requirements. The most prominent ones include the following.

  • GPS Data: Companies can access your device’s GPS functions using apps installed. If you enable specific permissions, the company can access that data and curate their campaign to make it more relatable to your locale. Those might include precise coordinates or just the name of the city or region.
  • IP Address Tracking: IP address tracking pertains to locating the device’s connection rather than the users. It typically occurs on the marketer’s website or domain, tracking your connection when you view their content online.
  • Signal Triangulation: A less popular but more intrusive form of geolocation involves signal triangulation. It narrows the location by measuring the distance from three connection nodes, which can land you within 50 meters of accuracy if you use cell towers. It’s illegal in most countries and delegated only to law enforcement agencies.
  • Data Mining: Various data points you produce can also be used to pinpoint your approximate location. A few examples include the metadata on your online photos or the receipt of a bill from your local cafe. A well-designed AI can use data mining methods to locate users in a street or locality.

Is Geotargeting an Intrusion of Privacy?

In most cases, geotargeting is not an intrusion of privacy. Businesses looking to increase footfalls or marketing to a specific location won’t get desirable results from them.

Even giants like Google and Facebook offer location-based modifiers without giving out the identities of their users.

However, the concerns persist with companies that make their data centers available to third-party companies or authoritarian governments. Malicious entities can use that data to invade your privacy or stalk you in real life. One of the most high-profile cases was the FTC lawsuit against Kochava, an Idaho-based company that sold the location data of millions of users to third parties.

How to Avoid Geotargeting

Given that you can’t always trust big tech to safeguard your location data, there are a few proven methods to avoid geotargeting on your devices. Those include the following.

Beware of Trackers

It helps to remain wary of any data packets or software you install from the internet, even from trusted platforms. Intelligent anti-virus software on your computer or phone can scan the system and alert you if any piece of data is behaving suspiciously.

Moreover, you must check your device’s settings to only provide location data to programs that genuinely need it.

Refrain From Sharing Location on social media

Sharing your travel photos and selfies on social media has become a tradition. Still, it’s best to wait a bit and share the media after some time. Hackers can use that data to track your movement or use data mining to gain additional information, such as your name or financial information.

Use a VPN

If you’re connecting to a sensitive website, like a banking page, on an unsecured network, it’s best to activate a Virtual Private Network (VPN) beforehand. It masks your IP address and redirects it through a secure server located anywhere else in the world.

That way, anyone tracking your connection can’t get the fix on your exact location. An excellent service can even inform you whether someone is tracking you and let you bypass restrictions to access region-locked content.

So, a VPN for PC will hide your IP address when you are at home. The same principle will work when you connect to unknown networks with smartphones or laptops.

Final Thoughts

Geotargeting is becoming more common among marketers and hackers alike. Therefore, it’s best to know how to protect yourself from it. Much like any other data privacy concern, it’s not about the generation of data but how it’s used by those who gain access to it.