title: "Location Data Brokers: Why Banning TikTok Won't Protect Your Privacy" meta_description: "The U.S. military shut off ad tracking after data brokers sold troop locations. Here's what Instagram and TikTok collect, and why a federal privacy law matters more than app bans." slug: location-data-brokers-app-privacy primary_keyword: location data brokers secondary_keywords: [TikTok data collection, Instagram privacy, federal privacy law, ad tracking, data privacy, TikTok ban] Location Data Brokers: Why Banning TikTok Won't Protect Your Privacy Location data brokers sell the whereabouts of millions of Americans, including U.S. soldiers, for pennies. While lawmakers debate banning foreign apps like TikTok, the real data privacy threat is an open market that American tech companies built and still profit from. It's big enough that the U.S. military has already switched off ad tracking on its own devices. Why Did the U.S. Military Disable Ad Tracking? The U.S. Department of Defense, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Special Operations Command, disabled advertising tracking on government-issued iPhones, Android devices, and Windows PCs. The reason: reports revealed that foreign adversaries in the Middle East used commercial location data to find and target U.S. troops. That data wasn't hacked. It was bought legally from third-party data brokers. If the world's most powerful military has to change a default phone setting to keep people safe, the rest of us are running on the same risky defaults. How Much Does Location Data Cost? Research has found that detailed records on active-duty service members and their families can be bought on the commercial data market for as little as 15 cents per record, by almost anyone. That exposes a double standard. Politicians have spent years warning about what TikTok might do with American data. Meanwhile, the location data actually used against troops flowed through domestic ad networks and data brokers that remain legal and largely unregulated. What Data Does Instagram Collect? Instagram is a clear example of how much a mainstream U.S. platform gathers. At signup, it collects your name, email, phone number, and profile details. As you use the app, it also collects: Likes, comments, posts, and direct messages Location, device, and usage data Metadata from photos and videos Who you message and what kinds of messages you send Instagram shares data with third parties, including advertisers, directly and through Meta, and uses it for targeted ads. It hands data to law enforcement when legally required and scans messages for spam and abuse. Instagram Privacy and Security Incidents 2019 data breach. An unprotected database on an Amazon server exposed contact details tied to influencer and brand accounts. Early reports suggested nearly 50 million records; later statements put affected accounts at no more than 350,000. The database had no password and was open for at least 72 hours. Camera access concerns (2020–2022). When iOS 14 and Android 12 added camera-use indicators, some users saw Instagram triggering them outside camera features. Instagram said nothing was recorded but didn't address what the feed might be used for. AI training on user content (2023). Instagram updated its terms to let user photos and videos train AI, with no creator compensation. Accepting was mandatory. Where opt-outs were legally required, the process was deliberately difficult and requests could be rejected. Children's data (2019–2023). Meta was accused of doing little to close accounts of children under 13, even when parents asked, while still collecting their data. That led to a lawsuit alleging violations of COPPA. Explicit ads (2023–2026). Despite Meta's own ad rules, a nonprofit found thousands of explicit ads ran on Meta platforms in 2024. A July 2026 BBC investigation reported pornographic ads still running in some markets and ads linked to child exploitation material being recommended. Instagram Map (2025). Instagram said its August 2025 map feature was opt-in, but many users reported finding location sharing turned on without their knowledge. End-to-end encryption removed (2026). Meta announced Instagram DMs would lose optional end-to-end encryption from May 2026, citing low usage of a feature users had to turn on manually. Instagram's terms also give it a broad license to copy, modify, and distribute your uploads, let it remove content without explanation, and include a forced arbitration clause. What Data Does TikTok Collect? TikTok isn't off the hook. An August 2025 Incogni Research report ranked TikTok the most data-hungry major social media platform, collecting more than two dozen categories of personal data, including: Name, address, email, and phone number Payment, financial, and purchase history In-app messages, photos, videos, and voice recordings Contacts, in-app searches, and web browsing history Crash logs, diagnostics, and device identifiers Six of those categories, including names, addresses, photos, videos, and voice recordings, are shared with third parties for purposes like ad targeting. TikTok's New AI Advertising Tools In June 2025, TikTok launched Insight Spotlight, which analyzes demographics, searches, and viewing trends to generate AI ad suggestions, and Content Suite, which finds user videos mentioning a brand so they can become ads. Privacy advocates warn that these tools mean more surveillance, more precise targeting, and user content repurposed for commercial gain. Incogni's leadership has said apps quietly sharing names, addresses, and locations leave users exposed to third-party breaches. The takeaway: TikTok and Instagram run on the same business model. Ownership differs. Data hunger doesn't. Are Big Tech Companies Profiting From Your Location? Yes, and critics say that's the core problem. Companies like Google and Microsoft built operating systems and ad networks that broadcast location and device data for fractions of a penny per interaction. That turned everyday devices into sensors for an advertising economy, with data flowing to advertisers, brokers, and whoever those brokers sell to. Critics argue tech executives consistently put ad revenue ahead of user safety and national security. Would a TikTok Ban Fix Data Privacy? No. Banning one app treats a symptom. If TikTok vanished tomorrow, data brokers would keep selling, Instagram would keep collecting, and location data would still be for sale. What Should a Federal Privacy Law Include? Advocates are pushing for comprehensive federal privacy legislation built on a few principles: Ban the sale of re-identifiable data. Selling granular location or device data that can pinpoint individuals should be illegal. Anonymization that a few data points can reverse isn't anonymization. Real penalties. Fines are a cost of doing business for trillion-dollar companies. Advocates want criminal penalties and personal accountability for executives whose data practices endanger people. Easy opt-outs. Opting out should be as simple as opting in, with no dark patterns, and protections shouldn't depend on where you live. How to Protect Your Location Data Now Until the law changes, a few steps reduce your exposure: Turn off ad tracking (iPhone: Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking; Android: delete your advertising ID in Settings > Privacy > Ads) Set app location access to "While Using" or "Never" Turn off location sharing features like Instagram Map Review which apps have camera, microphone, and contact access Frequently Asked Questions What is a location data broker? A company that buys location data collected by apps and ad networks, then packages and resells it to advertisers, investigators, or anyone willing to pay. Is TikTok worse for privacy than Instagram? TikTok collects more categories of data according to Incogni's 2025 report, but both platforms collect extensive personal data and share it with third parties for advertising. Can data brokers legally sell my location in the U.S.? In most cases, yes. The U.S. has no comprehensive federal privacy law, so the sale of location data is largely unregulated. Does turning off ad tracking stop all tracking? No. It limits advertising identifiers, but apps can still collect location and usage data through their own permissions. The Bottom Line The U.S. military already decided commercial ad tracking is too dangerous to leave on. Everyone else uses the same phones, apps, and operating systems. Until lawmakers stop focusing on who owns an app and start regulating what every app can collect and sell, your location stays available to the highest bidder, sometimes for 15 cents