About SIMPORT

MOTIVATION

Based on the GPS location history of a mobile phone, deep inferences can be made about a person’s activities, place of residence, inclinations, beliefs or social network. Smartphones usually pass this information to apps and thus to companies by default, without clearly informing the users about possible risks in an understandable way and without providing detailed control options.

GOALS AND APPROACH

This is exactly where SIMPORT comes in: In the project, guidelines and software modules are developed for the sovereign management of personal location information on the mobile device.  In cooperation with partners from industry, the project will create open source software components to enable digital sovereignty regarding personal location information. With these components, users can clearly visualize possible inferences based on their personal location information so that they can better appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of sharing their location information. Users are thus informed about the risks precisely when they have to decide whether to share their personal data. For this purpose, innovative forms of interaction are being developed, which enable users to specify in detail which location data is to be shared when, with whom it is shared, and at what accuracy it is shared.

INNOVATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

In close cooperation between computer science and social sciences, research is carried out on how to improve the awareness of risks and opportunities as well as to develop fine-grained control options for sharing personal location information. This will strengthen competence and sovereignty of smartphone users in deciding about their personal data.

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