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Gloucester staff says mobility data purchase is anonymized; residents raised privacy concerns
Summary
County staff explained a subscription that aggregates anonymized cell‑phone mobility data for economic and planning analysis and told the public the county does not track individuals.
County staff addressed residents’ questions about rumors that the county had purchased tracking devices that monitor residents’ phones. Staff said the county purchased a subscription to an anonymized mobility data service that aggregates cell‑phone location data to show visitation patterns by ZIP code and to aid tourism and economic-development analysis.
The matter drew attention because some residents described hearing rumors that the county was monitoring individuals in local businesses and parks. County staff said the purchased product provides only aggregated, anonymous visitation data (for example, how many devices visiting a location came from which ZIP codes) and cannot be used to identify individual people.
"We are not tracking people," a county staff presenter said during the meeting. Staff described the purchase as a subscription intended to help the county’s economic-development office, planning work (including comp‑plan studies) and event planning by showing where visitors to county attractions originate.
Residents responded with a mix of privacy concern and interest in the planning use cases; staff said the product is a commercial analytics tool widely used by local governments and economic-development organizations and that the county’s use is limited to aggregated queries for planning or tourism measurement.
No policy change or contract amendment was adopted at the meeting. Staff said they would continue to answer public questions and make clear how the data will be used for planning and economic development.
