Organizations can use the information revealed by the movement of people and things in the actual world to carry out a variety of projects. Companies can gain insights that aid in targeted advertising, financial decisions, commercial real-estate planning, and other processes by gathering and analysing the location data of current and potential customers.

 In this article, we'll go into more detail about the many kinds of location data and how location data platform helps.

What is location data?

Location data is a time identifier and geographic information about the whereabouts of a particular device. Each device's movement is taken to be related to a certain person, and it serves as an anonymous identifier for that person's movement and position.

Smartphones and laptops that can track location data assist businesses in comprehending how clients move and act in the actual world. Understanding this movement can help a variety of businesses and groups make better choices when it comes to marketing and advertising, predicting and investing, and site planning.

Types of location data 

1. Real-time location data vs historical location data

Real-time location data keeps track of a device's movements in real-time and provides second-by-second position updates. An in-depth account of a device's movement from days, weeks, or months in the past can be provided through historical location data.

2. Deterministic location data vs probabilistic location data

Deterministic location information depends on actual human behavior (i.e. the actual movement between or within zip codes, the coordinates of a device, etc.) Location information that is based on probability and prior performance is known as probabilistic location data.

How is location data collected? 

A signal, a receiver, and an identifier are the three essential components needed to create location data. Although we tend to think of smart devices as sending out signals, when it comes to location monitoring, they are the receivers of signals from other technological devices. Mobile phones and desktop computers that are receivers pick up signals from at least one of the following sources:

1. GPS

By estimating how long each satellite's signal took to reach the device, a gadget's location can be ascertained. Under a clear, outside sky, a GPS signal can be quite accurate up to 4.9 meters in its maximum range.

2. Cell towers

For mobile devices to receive communications from other devices, they are connected to cell towers. A gadget can frequently detect several nearby cell towers. The signal strength from each adjacent tower can then be used to pinpoint the device's location.

3. WIFI

When GPS and cell towers aren't available or when these signals are interfered with by inclement weather or inside the movement, gadgets can use Wi-Fi for more precise positioning. The distance between a device and the "access point" that enables it to connect to and use the WiFi network is calculated by Wi-Fi to determine the location of the device.

4. Beacons

Beacons are tiny electronic gadgets that use Bluetooth to send information and are often found in a single, fixed location. To calculate its distance from the beacon, the device measures the signal's strength. Although they can pinpoint a location within 0.5 meters, beacons can only transmit Bluetooth signals in the areas where they have been deployed.