With modern GPS-aware devices, location data is widely collected and used for applications like traffic monitoring, route planning, friend-finding, advertisement deals, emergency services, etc. Location Based Service (LBS) is a service that is offered to users based on their location information. It is a convergence of technologies such as smartphones, the internet, and GIS that makes LBS possible. It is accessed by users from their mobile device, through the mobile internet available on the device while sharing their geographical location (and other required information) with the service provider.
The quality of service provided by the LBS depends on the type of service, underlying architecture, and the accuracy of the data collected. Highly precise data is collected for location-based services, which is either a single location update or continuous location updates depending on the kind of service. Analysis of such highly precise spatiotemporal data, when collected over an interval of time, can lead to the identification of individuals, estimation of trajectories (identification of popular source/destination points), and eventually their behavior. A lot of information about a person’s beliefs, preferences, religion, and health can be inferred by analyzing the location data.