Geofencing Privacy Violations: Location Tracking Lawsuits

Geofencing can provide useful information, but when companies exploit location data for profit without transparency or consent, it becomes a gray area for personal privacy and consumer rights. Holding corporations accountable through legal action not only compensates victims—it helps enforce boundaries around how personal data can be collected and shared. If you believe your location privacy was violated, reach out to our data privacy lawyers at The Lyon Firm to discuss your rights under current privacy and data protection laws.

What is Geofencing?

Geofencing is a technology that sets invisible digital borders around physical spaces using GPS signals, Wi-Fi networks, or mobile data. When someone carrying a smartphone or connected device enters or exits these zones, companies can trigger alerts, collect movement data, or send targeted marketing messages in real time.

Though promoted as a tool for personalized advertising and customer engagement, geofencing has quietly become a major privacy risk. Many consumers are unaware that their precise location data is being harvested, analyzed, and sold—often without explicit permission. This growing misuse of geolocation data has sparked consumer protection investigations and lawsuits across the country.

How Companies Exploit Geolocation Data

Location tracking can reveal intimate information about a person’s private life. Even supposedly anonymous data can be reverse-engineered to identify individuals based on their travel patterns and routine destinations. Common examples of potentially unlawful practices include:

• Tracking individuals who visit medical clinics, religious institutions, or addiction treatment centers.

• Storing and monetizing continuous location histories even after a user opts out.

• Sharing or selling device data to third-party advertisers and data brokers without disclosure.

• Collecting movement data through mobile apps that run in the background.

These activities can expose consumers to surveillance, profiling, and discrimination. When businesses misuse such information, they may be violating state privacy statutes or federal consumer protection laws.

Legal Protections Against Data Misuse

Government agencies and state legislatures have started addressing the unchecked spread of location tracking. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned that companies failing to obtain informed consent before gathering or selling geolocation data may be engaging in deceptive business practices.

Several states have enacted or expanded comprehensive privacy frameworks to curb the misuse of personal information:

• California’s CPRA and CCPA require businesses to disclose data collection practices and allow consumers to opt out of data sales.

• Colorado, Virginia, and Connecticut have passed similar statutes granting individuals control over their personal information.

• Other states, including Massachusetts and Washington, are proposing bills that would restrict geofencing near sensitive facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and schools.

Under these laws, consumers may have grounds to pursue damages or injunctive relief if companies have secretly tracked or sold their data.

Geofencing Lawsuits and Enforcement Actions

In recent years, regulators and privacy advocates have drawn attention to the dangers of geofencing. Multiple companies have faced FTC enforcement actions and civil lawsuits for using mobile location data to target people based on visits to specific places.

Some of these lawsuits claim that geofencing was used to identify individuals visiting abortion clinics, mental health centers, or religious sites—amounting to intrusive surveillance and privacy violations.

Courts are increasingly recognizing that detailed location histories are as personal as medical or financial records. Misuse of that information may constitute unfair or deceptive conduct, invasion of privacy, or breach of data protection laws.

What Legal Claims May Be Available

Individuals whose location information was tracked or shared without permission may have several legal options, including:

• Violation of state privacy laws such as the CPRA or VCDPA.

• Unfair or deceptive practices under the FTC Act.

• Intrusion upon seclusion, a tort claim for unlawful surveillance.

• Negligence for failing to safeguard sensitive consumer data.

• Breach of contract where a company ignored its own privacy policy.

Victims of unlawful data collection may be entitled to financial compensation, statutory damages, or injunctive orders preventing further misuse of their information.

Why Work With The Lyon Firm

The Lyon Firm represents consumers nationwide in data privacy, geolocation tracking, and data misuse litigation. Our attorneys investigate how corporations collect and exploit personal data—and pursue accountability when they cross legal or ethical boundaries.

The firm has a successful record of handling class action personal privacy class actions and helping clients recover compensation and pushing for stronger corporate transparency. When you hire The Lyon Firm, you gain a partner who:

• Understands the complex landscape of privacy regulation.

• Has experience litigating against tech companies, data brokers, and app developers.

• Works on a contingency basis, meaning you owe no fees unless recovery is obtained.