Shops are secretly tracking your every move by snooping on your mobile - WITHOUT asking permission

Monitors in store track EVERY mobile phone signal



No warning given to shoppers

No opt-out clause except turning off mobile phones

Technology used in malls and large department stores



Launch has caused huge controversy in U.S.

'Big Brother' technology which monitors mobile phones remotely - without warning you that this is happening - is already in use in many major British retail chains, MailOnline can reveal.



The technology has quietly been in use in the UK for four years in several 'major' High Street malls and department stores, with little or no publicity.

It raises serious questions about privacy - and this weekend the launch of the technology in the U.S. for the post-Thanksgiving sales was been greeted with a storm of controversy

Path Intelligence says that its use of phone-tracking technology is widespread on Britain's High Streets - and that 'major' chains already use the technology

Thanks to the widespread use of CCTV, Britain is already the most 'watched' society on Earth.

Unlike with CCTV, though, victims of 'Footpaths' scanning often get no warning they are being watched.



The surveillance is not for their safety, either - it's for pure commercial gain.





'FootPath works by detecting a frequently changing signal from your mobile phone. This random signal is detected by a number of our units within the premises'

'Our FootPath technology allows us to monitor the path you take as you travel through premises belonging to any of our clients,' says Path Intelligence, the company behind the technology.

The technology is already in use in several 'major' retail chains in the UK - although the company's CEO refused to say which.

'We have been installed in various places since 2008,' CEO Sharon Biggar told MailOnline today.

When entering premises with Footpath technology, the customer receives no warning that their mobile phone signal is being monitored bar a small sign somewhere on the premises.



Crucially, though, they do not receive an option to 'opt-out' of being scanned.



Customers on all networks will be scanned by Footpath, and no current mobile phone has a 'defence' against such scanners. The only way to be safe is simply to switch off.



'FootPath works by detecting a frequently changing signal from your mobile phone,' says the company. 'This random signal is detected by a number of our units within the premises.



'We combine the information detected from the mobile phone signal with a proprietary mathematical algorithm developed by us. This allows us to determine your path through premises equipped with our receiver units.'



'We cannot store individual mobile phone numbers and do not read SMS texts or phone calls,' says Ms Biggar. 'We 'hash' the data immediately so that no computer or person within Path Intelligence ever knows the number.'

Privacy advocates worry, though, that merely harvesting that sort of data leaves stores open to hackers or employees misusing the information.



Path Intelligence is combined with sales data to create a full 'picture' of the effectiveness of shop layouts

'Store security cameras are a bigger privacy violation - they CAN identify you.'

'Sat-navs such as TomTom also already scan for mobile phone signals to work out where there are traffic jams.'

Ms Biggar says the technology is largely used to help stores redesign to maximise sales.

'On one occasion, Path Intelligence technology helped a store to redesign its fire escapes after a - thankfully false - alarm showed that customers were running in the wrong direction,' she adds.

The technology has also proved finally that some of the received wisdom about shopping is wrong.

Many shops attempt to lay out their stores to achieve a fast 'turnover' of shoppers - but Biggar says Path Intelligence's data, combined with sales figures, show that shoppers who stay longer spend more

The data is used to work out how - and why - customers remain in particular areas of stores, by detecting mobile phones to create a 3D picture of who is going where within a shop

'We combine our data with sales figures - customers who stay longest spend the most'

'It used to be thought that customers who stayed long were just passing time,' says Ms Biggar, 'Most shops wanted a quick turnover, to get more people through the door. But our data proves that customers who stay longest spend the most.'

In America, however - where the launch of the technology was widely publicised - it has not been well received.



Senator Charles Schumer has raised concerns over 'creepy' technology that follows shoppers’ movements through a mall by tracking their cell phones.



Now Schumer has said the Footpath technology is a invasion of privacy and should not be used without the cell phone owner’s consent.

Schumer said the technology by British company Path Intelligence should use an opt-in mechanism to give shoppers the choice whether they want their movements tracked.

Following: Malls in Europe and Australia have used the technology to research shoppers' buying habits. Now U.S. stores are considering using it too

'It's sort of creepy to know that every movement you make in every store is being followed. Most people wouldn't like that.,' said the New York senator.



‘A shopper's personal cellphone should not be used by a third party as a tracking device by retailers who are seeking to determine holiday shopping patterns.



‘It shouldn't be up to the consumer to turn their cellphone off when they walk into the mall to ensure they aren't being virtually tailed.’

‘Even though all information gathered by the system is anonymous, some consumers may still wish not to participate,’ company spokesman Jeff Linton said.

Watching you: Senator Schumer, pictured, said the technology meant shoppers were 'being virtually tailed' and shouldn't have to turn their phones off

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Path Intelligence is at present the only company who uses this technology. Sat-nav companies such as TomTom DO detect mobile phone signals - large concentrations of them indicate a traffic jam. But Path Intelligence's long-term monitoring of signals is unique. A number of monitoring units are positioned thorugh a shop, and monitor the signals sent out by mobile phones as they communicate with the nearest mast. The system does not register mobile numbers, or 'read' the data that is sent.

These units calculate the movement of consumers and feed it to a processing centre that builds up a '3D' picture of movement within the store - this is then compared and analysed against known shopping and spending patterns.

‘At present, the option for them to decline to participate is to turn off their mobile phones. ... We would like to pursue an easier "opt-out" option for consumers.’



Path Intelligence has said the technology is not intended to spy on individual shoppers.

But Schumer said that if the data were hacked it could compromise personal information on shoppers' phones.

In a letter to Path Intelligence CEO Sharon Biggar, Schumer urged the company to obtain the explicit consent of shoppers' through an opt-in policy.



He also called on Federal Trade Commission to examine how this new technology fits in with existing consumer privacy regulations.



But Ms Biggar defended the technology, saying that an opt-in for her company's service would put real-world stores at a disadvantage as they compete with online retailers that track shoppers' behavior from the moment they enter a website.



‘We are simply seeking to create a level playing field for offline retailers, and believe you can do so whilst simultaneously protecting the privacy of shoppers,’ she said, noting that her company alters the information it collects before it is stored.

‘We never reveal data at an individual level, and we ask all of our clients to put up signage to let shoppers know that our system is in operation.’





