Nevada Police Track Phone Locations Without Warrants via New Data Contract
The Nevada Department of Public Safety has quietly entered into a contract with Fog Data Science, enabling law enforcement to track cellphone locations in real-time without obtaining warrants. Adopted in January 2026 through a low-cost agreement funded by federal grants, the software allows investigators to perform over 250 queries monthly. This technology aggregates data from smartphone apps to reveal users' patterns of life, including home and work locations, associations, and visited places. While the company claims data is anonymized and linked only to devices, privacy experts and the ACLU argue this practice violates the Fourth Amendment and due process rights by circumventing traditional judicial oversight. The deal bypassed standard high-level approval processes due to its modest $12,000 annual price tag. Officials defend the tool as essential for counterterrorism and criminal investigations, particularly amidst staffing shortages. However, the move has sparked significant concern regarding mass surveillance and the lack of regulatory guardrails for such technologies in Nevada, echoing broader national debates on data broker regulations and digital privacy rights.
Wire timeline
Nevada Police Track Phone Locations Without Warrants via New Data Contract
The Nevada Department of Public Safety has quietly entered into a contract with Fog Data Science, enabling law enforcement to track cellphone locations in real-time without obtaining warrants. Adopted in January 2026 through a low-cost agreement funded by federal grants, the software allows investigators to perform over 250 queries monthly. This technology aggregates data from smartphone apps to reveal users' patterns of life, including home and work locations, associations, and visited places. While the company claims data is anonymized and linked only to devices, privacy experts and the ACLU argue this practice violates the Fourth Amendment and due process rights by circumventing traditional judicial oversight. The deal bypassed standard high-level approval processes due to its modest $12,000 annual price tag. Officials defend the tool as essential for counterterrorism and criminal investigations, particularly amidst staffing shortages. However, the move has sparked significant concern regarding mass surveillance and the lack of regulatory guardrails for such technologies in Nevada, echoing broader national debates on data broker regulations and digital privacy rights.
AP News