Location data after Chatrie: the consent story just got weaker

Built to keep you findable: removal is a position, not an event

Your Record Comes Back

California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform began binding registered data brokers on 1 August 2026, requiring them to act on deletion requests on a recurring cycle. This brief asks why a record can still be found after a removal apparently succeeded, how much of that the new duty reaches, and how removal work should be judged over time. Built from California Privacy Protection Agency materials and the firm's removal casework. For principals and advisors assessing a deletion program.

The five things they promise you about privacy

None of Them Are Lies

Privacy policies repeat the same handful of reassurances, and a 2026 Nature audit of medical AI measured privacy risk patient by patient. The first of two briefs on the privacy promise, this one asks what five common assurances literally commit an organization to, and what question makes each declare its scope. Built from statutory definitions, policy drafting, that study and a European Data Protection Board opinion. For advisors negotiating data terms with banks and vendors.

Why you cannot trust privacy promises

You Vetted the Wrong Company

Second of two briefs on the privacy promise, after CB-116 on how to read one. A privacy review usually assesses the company in front of it; this brief asks what that leaves out once data moves beyond the firm that made the commitment. Built from re-identification research from Latanya Sweeney's 1997 Massachusetts demonstration to a 2026 Nature audit of medical AI, and the FTC's 2024 location-broker orders. For advisors judging how much a vendor's privacy commitments are worth.

Chatrie reprices the purchase route: the channel the ruling did not close

What They Cannot Take, They Can Buy

The Supreme Court's Chatrie decision of 29 June 2026 concerned police compelling Location History from a provider, and said nothing of agencies that buy similar records from brokers. This brief takes up that silence and asks how a principal should sort location records already in commercial hands. Built from the slip opinion, intelligence-community policy on purchased data, a 2026 contract cancellation and FTC orders. For counsel assessing records that could be bought rather than subpoenaed.

What a coordinate discloses

Federal Trade Commission complaints against Gravy Analytics, Mobilewalla and InMarket give the most detailed public account of what the location data industry infers from movement records. This brief works that enforcement record backward to the derivation steps behind it, asks which inferences matter most to a protected person, and tests whether current rules reach them. Built from the complaints and orders, peer-reviewed mobility research and recent state privacy statutes. For security and legal functions assessing a principal's movement exposure.