[SwaraLink]

I think the biggest misconception here is the belief that Bluetooth LE beacons are tracking phones. The beacons themselves operate as transmit-only and don’t receive any data and therefore don’t perform any tracking themselves. The more correct way to look at this is that the apps are tracking a user’s location, and the beacons are providing the app with information to determine the current location.

If the app’s knowledge of your location provides some service and the user is opting-in, this shouldn’t be a problem (just like I opt-in to provide Google Maps my location).

The keys here are (1) users should be aware that an app knows your location, and (2) User should have the ability to opt-in to providing my location to the app. The mobile operating systems should do a better job of making the user aware and making it very easy to opt in or out.

Maybe an ideal solution would be where (assuming the user opts-in) the OS automatically controls whether an app has the ability to use Bluetooth locationing when the GPS detects that I’m in a certain area. For example, the Target app is prevented from using Bluetooth tracking most of the time, but when my phone GPS sees that I’m in a Target store it automatically enables it while I’m there, and disables it when I leave.