Field

A characteristic of a feature, represented by a column in a dataset. Fields can be used to store information about a feature, such as its name, ID number, or area.

Foot Traffic Attribution

Foot traffic attribution is the process of identifying the sources of foot traffic to a business or location. This information can be used to inform marketing and business decisions.

Future of Privacy Forum (FPF)

A think tank that works to advance responsible data practices.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union’s data protection law, in force since 25 May 2018. It governs how personal data belonging to people in the EU is collected, stored and used, regardless of where the organisation doing the processing is based.

Why it matters for location data

Location data is usually personal data under the GDPR. A precise position history singles out an individual even without a name attached — it reveals where someone sleeps, works and spends time. Regulators have consistently treated it as identifying, which means every stage of collection and use needs a lawful basis.

Lawful bases and consent

Processing requires one of six lawful bases. For advertising and analytics uses of location data, that basis is normally consent, and the GDPR sets a high bar: it must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous, given by clear affirmative action, and as easy to withdraw as it was to give. Pre-ticked boxes and bundled permissions do not qualify.

Individual rights

People can request access to their data, ask for correction or erasure, object to processing, and request portability. Any organisation holding location data needs a working process for answering those requests, not just a policy describing one.

Penalties

Fines reach the greater of €20 million or 4% of worldwide annual turnover for the most serious breaches, which is what moved data protection from a compliance footnote to a board-level concern.

Related: how Tamoco approaches consent and data transparency.

Geocode

A method of converting addresses or other location-based information into geographic coordinates. Geocoding is often used to create points in a dataset from input data that only contains address information.

Geoconquesting

Geoconquesting is a marketing technique that involves targeting potential customers in a specific geographic area in order to gain market share from competitors.

Geodata

Data that describes the Earth’s physical features, such as its landforms, oceans, and climate. Geodata can be used to create maps and other visualizations of the Earth’s surface.

Geodesy

The study of the Earth’s shape, size, and gravity field. Geodesy is used to measure the Earth’s surface, as well as to study its interior structure and dynamics.

Geodetic

Relating to or based on the Earth’s surface. Geodetic coordinates are a type of geographic coordinate that takes into account the Earth’s curvature.

Geofencing

Geofencing is a location-based marketing technique that uses GPS or RFID technology to create a virtual boundary around a specific geographic area. This boundary can be used to trigger marketing messages or content to nearby mobile devices.