Company:Gravy Analytics
Template:Company infobox Gravy Analytics is an American data broker company specializing in the collection and sale of location data collected from mobile devices.[1][2] In November 2023, Gravy Analytics merged with Unacast, a company that provides location insights.[3]
Venntel, a U.S. government contractor, is a subsidiary of Gravy Analytics. In 2022, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union showed that Venntel sold user location data to several government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection.[4][5]
In December 2024, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Gravy Analytics and Venntel for knowingly collecting and selling user location data without consent, including for sensitive locations relating to medical conditions, religious affiliation, and political activities.[6][7][8][9]
Leaked data from Gravy Analytics was posted on the Russian cybercrime forum XSS in early January 2025.[10][11][12] The leak contained millions of location coordinates and the names of thousands of mobile applications,[1] thus confirming that Gravy Analytics was utilizing real-time bidding to source location data through advertisers, rather than location-gathering code intentionally embedded in apps by their developers.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cox, Joseph (9 January 2025). "Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: See the Thousands of Apps Hijacked to Spy on Your Location" (in en-US). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/gravy-location-data-app-leak-rtb/. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
- ↑ Whittaker, Zack (2025-01-13). "Data broker Gravy Analytics confirms a data breach after a hacker leaked millions of location records" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/13/gravy-analytics-data-broker-breach-trove-of-location-data-threatens-privacy-millions/.
- ↑ "Gravy Analytics and Unacast Merge to Become Leader in Location Data and Insights" (in en). 29 Nov 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gravy-analytics-and-unacast-merge-to-become-leader-in-location-data-and-insights-302000184.html.
- ↑ ACLU of New York (July 18, 2022). "New Records Detail DHS Purchase and Use of Vast Quantities of Cell Phone Location Data" (in en-US). https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-records-detail-dhs-purchase-and-use-vast-quantities-cell-phone-location-data-0.
- ↑ Cox, Joseph (2022-07-18). "Documents Show DHS Tracks Smartphones Across the Country" (in en-US). https://www.vice.com/en/article/documents-show-dhs-tracks-smartphones-across-the-country/.
- ↑ "FTC Takes Action Against Gravy Analytics, Venntel for Unlawfully Selling Location Data Tracking Consumers to Sensitive Sites" (in en). 2024-12-02. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/12/ftc-takes-action-against-gravy-analytics-venntel-unlawfully-selling-location-data-tracking-consumers.
- ↑ Burke, Minyvonne (2024-12-03). "FTC takes action against companies accused of unlawfully tracking and selling location data" (in en). https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ftc-takes-action-location-data-companies-accused-unlawfully-using-cons-rcna182646.
- ↑ Cameron, Dell; Mehrotra, Dhruv (2024-12-03). "FTC Says Data Brokers Unlawfully Tracked Protesters and US Military Personnel" (in en-US). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/ftc-mobilewalla-gravy-analytics-orders/. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
- ↑ "FTC Takes Action Against Data Brokers for Selling Sensitive Location Data" (in en-US). https://epic.org/ftc-takes-action-against-data-brokers-for-selling-sensitive-location-data/.
- ↑ Cox, Joseph (2025-01-07). "Hackers Claim Massive Breach of Location Data Giant, Threaten to Leak Data" (in en). https://www.404media.co/hackers-claim-massive-breach-of-location-data-giant-threaten-to-leak-data/.
- ↑ Satter, Raphael; Vicens, A.J. (2025-01-08). "Hacker claims breach of US location tracking company Gravy Analytics". https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/hacker-claims-breach-us-location-tracking-company-gravy-analytics-2025-01-08/.
- ↑ Baran, Guru (2025-01-08). "Gravy Analytics Hacked - Attackers Allegedly Claiming 17TB Data Stolen" (in en-US). https://cybersecuritynews.com/hackers-allegedly-stolen-17tb-of-data/.
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