Nevada Allows Police to Track Cellphones Without Warrants

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Nevada has quietly signed an agreement with data collection company Fog Data Science, allowing state police to track the location of mobile devices in real-time without obtaining a warrant. The software pulls information from smartphone apps to identify device locations, enabling officers to monitor individuals' 'patterns of life' over extended periods.

Why it matters

This policy change raises significant privacy concerns, as it allows law enforcement broad access to sensitive location data without the oversight and due process requirements of a warrant. Critics argue that most cellphone users are unaware their location information can be shared with police in this manner.

The details

The new agreement, adopted in January 2026, gives Nevada's Department of Public Safety the ability to conduct more than 250 location tracking queries per month using Fog's technology. This allows officers to follow a device's movements over time and deduce information about an individual's home, work, associates, and frequented locations. Traditionally, police have needed to obtain a warrant to access this type of cellphone location data, a process that can take days or weeks.

• The data collection agreement was signed earlier this year in 2026.
• The new policy went into effect in January 2026.

What’s next

Privacy advocates are expected to challenge the legality of this new policy, arguing it violates constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.