--- description: Your apps want to know where you are title: Your Smartphone Could be Tracking You Every 3 Minutes, Study Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ba4292bc6413d18/69877892524fc03156debc27/iphone-social-apps-whatsapp.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Your Smartphone Could be Tracking You Every 3 Minutes, Study Says by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 23, 2015 5:28 PM CUT  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 23, 2015 5:28 PM CUT Smartphone apps regularly collect large amounts of data on users’ locations, sometimes as often as every three minutes, [new research suggests](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cmu-isr-14-116.pdf "undefined"). Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University conducted a study where they asked 23 people to use their Android smartphones normally, and tracked location data requests from each device with specially designed software, the [_Wall Street Journal_](http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/23/where-were-you-3-minutes-ago-your-apps-know/?mod=LS1 "undefined")reports. The researchers found that many popular Android apps tracked their users an average 6,200 times per participant over a two-week period, or about every three minutes. The _WSJ_ writes: --- > “” --- Some of the apps came pre-installed on the phone, and were not as easily deleted, the _WSJ_ reports. The researchers were also looking at whether users would benefit or appreciate software “nudges” that would alert them when sensitive data was being collected by their apps. The researchers found that the participants often changed settings when they learned that their apps were collecting information about them or their location. The research will be presented at the CHI 2015 conference. _\[_[_WSJ_](http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/23/where-were-you-3-minutes-ago-your-apps-know/?mod=LS1 "undefined")_\]_ ### PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today  1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I. Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images  1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point'). Keystone/Holton/Getty Images  1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London. Kypros/Getty Images  1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work. Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5\. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith. Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images  1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25. Mark Lennihan—AP  1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. India Today Group/Getty Images  2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11. Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images  2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo. Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images  2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images  2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones. Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3754626/apps-collect-location-data/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3754626/apps-collect-location-data/"},"headline":"Your Smartphone Could be Tracking You Every 3 Minutes, Study Says","datePublished":"2015-03-23T17:28:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:45:00.062Z","description":"Your apps want to know where you are","url":"https://time.com/3754626/apps-collect-location-data/","keywords":["Tech","weather","apps","Android","Data topic","groupon","cell phones"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ba4292bc6413d18/69877892524fc03156debc27/iphone-social-apps-whatsapp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ba4292bc6413d18/69877892524fc03156debc27/iphone-social-apps-whatsapp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Social Apps iPhone","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Social Apps iPhone","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3754626/apps-collect-location-data/","name":"Your Smartphone Could be Tracking You Every 3 Minutes, Study Says"}}]}] ```