#IfYouReadOneThingToday - On smartphones

I grew up with a very cinematic view of spies, and for the longest time believed the caricatures portrayed in James Bond movies were, in fact, real. They used exotic tools and techniques to threaten our freedoms, and by the time the credits rolled, I counted myself thankful that the good guys always seemed to have better tools and techniques than the villains. 

These days, spies are far less exotic. In fact, they aren't human at all, and we've been blindly carrying them around in our pockets for the better part of the last decade.

The typical smartphone is packed with sensors that record our every move and interaction, even if we aren't even deliberately using the device. And the data trail that results can easily become an infinitely worse nightmare than anything Dr. No could have ever dished out to 007.

A team of New York Times journalists has published one of the more eye-opening pieces on just how far we've gone - and what those electronic spies in our pockets are capable of.

Remember: this isn't a political statement. Followers of all parties carry the same devices - and are just as vulnerable to the kind of deep-dive analytics on display here. I won't tell you to enjoy the read, because there's nothing fun about any of this. It's time we opened our eyes, and journalism like this can help.

They Stormed the Capitol. Their Apps Tracked Them.

By Charlie Warzel and Stuart A. Thompson

The New York Times

February 5, 2021