Surveillance capabilities have expanded steadily in recent years, and fresh tools now allow authorities to gather additional details about individuals whenever they travel. A newly introduced system aims to supplement existing methods by collecting further information from people on the road.

Leonardo Company, a firm specializing in automated license plate readers, has launched SignalTrace technology. This equipment gathers signals from nearby electronic items including phones, smartwatches, wireless gadgets, vehicles, and tracking tags. When paired with license plate systems, it links device data obtained via Bluetooth, RFID, and Wi-Fi to specific cars and plates, forming a more detailed profile for tracing.

The system records electronic signatures from consumer devices that pass within range. These signatures connect to license plate records, enabling identification of devices that frequently appear alongside a person or vehicle. Company materials note that this approach can reveal patterns such as group travel or repeated routes, adding to data already collected by plate cameras.

Data collection without an opt-out option

Combined with a nearby plate reader, the technology could identify a specific vehicle model along with associated devices like a smartwatch or phone. Such combined details might support monitoring of movements or associations between individuals during inquiries.

Promotional information from the company highlights respect for individual rights, stating that the system avoids decrypting device contents. Alerts occur only after a signature matches an active investigation tied to a reported incident.

However, prior reports on license plate data show that access controls can be bypassed, with instances of misuse for personal reasons documented across multiple regions. Recent cases have involved officers facing charges for improper use of such records.

Emerging tools with minimal oversight continue to narrow distinctions between public and private information, turning routine activities into collections of trackable data points.