Pet trackers: does the user's data privacy get compromised?

Do you want to buy a pet tracker but worry about data privacy leakage? With the booming pet economy, more and more families choose to keep pets. Pets are not only our companions but also part of the family.

When we head out or travel with our furry companions, ensuring their safety and privacy becomes a crucial concern.

This is where pet trackers came into existence and have become the modern pet owner's right-hand man. These devices track your pet's location in real time through GPS, Bluetooth technology, cellular networks, and radio technology. However, the question that arises is: does the use of pet trackers compromise the data privacy of both the user and the pet?

1.Data Privacy Leakage

In this age of advanced technology, people's data privacy is at considerable risk. Despite the country having established privacy laws, there remain individuals who exploit legal loopholes to invade others’ privacy.

For example, cell phones, which are indispensable devices in our daily lives, actually snoop on users' privacy daily.

Mobile apps, whether downloaded on cell phones or accessed via cellular networks, can indeed pose privacy risks.

These risks often stem from the default privacy policies that users unwittingly agree to. This is then used to analyze the user's personality, interests, and hobbies.

Perhaps when the information about the privacy policy appeared, you didn't check it carefully and just clicked on agree. However, unbeknownst to you, this is providing personal privacy to some unscrupulous businesses.

Sometimes cell phone software pushes us some advertisements that we are interested in. Or it pushes us to relevant content about topics we have discussed with our friends. All these are the theft of user's privacy by cell phone apps.

BlackBerry, a famous cell phone brand, has also indicated that cellular phone cellular network operators may sell user location information to third parties.

This kind of theft of user data privacy has ethical and legal issues that should cause us concern and vigilance. We need to strengthen the regulation of mobile apps to protect users' privacy rights.

At the same time, we also need to raise our privacy awareness and strengthen our self-data privacy protection measures to prevent personal information from being abused. Only in this way can we protect our privacy rights and interests in the digital age.

Although some pet trackers are different from cell phones in that they do not have to download numerous apps, they work on a similar principle. It has a positioning function, and there are ways in which an unscrupulous person may invade a pet tracker.

This then leads to the risk of the pet and the user's location information and data privacy being compromised. It would be very dangerous if someone used this leaked data privacy to commit pet theft or cause distress to the user.

Frontiers, a well-known magazine publisher, analyzed pet products and one of the items mentioned pet trackers. It also said that some pet trackers may cause unnecessary trouble for pet safety and user privacy.

When buying a pet tracker, it’s crucial to consider whether the company will keep accessing your private information. Take a close look at the merchant’s website and review their privacy policy to ensure your privacy remains protected.

2.Pet Trackers

There are two types of GPS pet trackers available in the market. One is a pet tracker that consists of GPS and a cellular network. The other is a pet tracker that consists of GPS and radio technology.

What is the difference between these two types of pet trackers? Which type of pet tracker can effectively prevent privacy leakage? I will analyze these two types of pet trackers for you. And recommend a pet tracker that can protect data privacy.

2.1 Pet tracker with GPS and cellular network

This type of pet tracker has several different brands in the market. For example, Tractive, whistle, Fi, PitPat, and so on. It requires the user to download a cell phone app to get the location information of the pet while using it.

It works similarly to cell phone communication. After GPS location, the location information is transmitted to the user's mobile app through nearby cellular base stations.

So, this pet tracker needs to be used in places with good cellular signals. If the cellular signal is weak, the transmitted positioning information may not be accurate. In addition, there is a monthly subscription fee for the cellular network service provider.

Although this type of pet tracker can bring a lot of convenience to pet owners, however, it may leak user data privacy.

--Location privacy leakage: You need to be aware of location privacy leakage when using pet trackers with cellular networks.

Although these pet trackers can pinpoint the location of our pets, it also means that our and our pets' location information may be accessed by third parties. Some unscrupulous individuals may gain access to user information by hacking into cellular networks.

Kaspersky Daily, a privately held international cybersecurity firm, says it's not hard to crack cellular networks. And cellular service providers have no protection measures in place right now. Some crooks can easily get users' location information after hacking.

--Data abuse：Pet trackers can collect data that raises privacy concerns. This includes location information about users and their pets, as well as activity tracking.

Unfortunately, some of this data might be used for commercial purposes, such as personalized ad targeting and market research. It’s essential to stay informed and make informed choices when using these devices.

To realize the function of pet tracking, users need to download the corresponding mobile app. And authorize the provision of personal and pet-related data privacy in the course of use.

However, pet tracker merchants may share this data with third parties. Therefore, users need to be careful to protect their personal and pet privacy when using such pet trackers. After downloading the mobile app, read its privacy policy carefully.

2.2 GPS and radio technology pet trackers

Fewer brands of pet trackers utilize radio technology in today’s market. The most popular ones, bought in larger quantities, are Aorkuler and Garmin.

These brands offer reliable options for keeping track of your furry companions. Compared with other pet trackers, these products have less risk of leakage in terms of data privacy protection.

After completing the GPS positioning, the pet tracker can transmit the positioning information directly to the controller through radio technology without the involvement of a cellular network.

As a result, there is no way for crooks to hack into the pet tracker and users do not have to pay a monthly subscription fee to the cellular carrier.

I recommend Aorkuler's pet tracker. With Aorkuler's pet tracker, you don't need to download a mobile app, and you can view your pet's location directly through the controller.

This not only frees up cell phone memory but also prevents merchants from accessing user and pet data. The use of this type of pet tracker protects the user's data privacy to the greatest extent possible.

Aorkuler pet tracker does not rely on cellular networks and can be used in rural or suburban areas. Its controller uses an electronic compass method. It can quickly find the location of the pet even when the user is in an unfamiliar environment.

when your pet is close to you, the controller connects to the tracker via Bluetooth, and the screen displays “nearby.” However, when your pet is farther away, the Bluetooth connection disconnects, and the pet’s direction is indicated using GPS.

For more information about the Aorkuler pet tracker, please click here.       

3.Summarize

In addition to ensuring the safety of your pet, pet owners need to be mindful of protecting the privacy of their personal and pet data when choosing a pet tracker.

Among the many pet trackers available, the Aorkuler is a safe and reliable choice. It utilizes radio technology that protects the user's data privacy from leakage and abuse.

At the same time, Aorkuler can locate the pet in real-time so that pet owners can use it with peace of mind. Choose Aorkuler to give you and your pet a safe and secure option.