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This method solves the privacy problem, thereby making it possible to obtain the consent needed to obtain the detailed tracking data.

• This method does not ask people to trust that a corporation will safeguard their private data. And it does not require the corporation to be worthy of that trust.
  
  
• The privacy protection is automatic. Automaticity is hugely important; any system which requires that all of the numerous people being tracked define their (temporal or geographic) privacy parameters appropriately will, inevitably, fail... and bring embarrassment and liability on the corporations involved.
  
  
• This method makes it possible to use individual tracks without aggregation. In contrast, other methods seek to protect privacy by aggregating (lumping together) lots of tracks, but aggregation inherently involves a major loss of data. So, for example, aggregated tracks could give you a handle on how many people pass a given corner, but it won't give you a lot of detail on where each of those people started and ended his trip. So, you wouldn't know if the corner were more suited to a Neiman Marcus or a Target.
  
  
• The method is efficient. It blurs the private data, while keeping the valuable data on movements in public. Also, it makes it possible to collect tracks on a statistically valid sample of devices, so that effort is not wasted.

Can I start using this method?