Location data is closely guarded by many smartphone users. Thats why the Android and iOS operating system prevent third party apps from accessing location data without the specific permission of the user.
But it turns out that malware can track you anyway, without this data, MIT Technology Review reports. The idea is that a smartphones power usage depends largely on the distance from the nearest base station.
As a user moves, this distance changes, increasing or decreasing the power needed to communicate with a base station. Given several different potential routes, the power usage profile should reveal which the user has taken.
To prevent this kind of spying one must prevent apps gaining access to power usage data at all. Another option is to give apps access to power usage data other than those involved in radio communication.
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