Location Privacy in Location-Based Services: Beyond TTP-based Schemes.

TLDR

Location‑Based Services are increasingly important thanks to mobile and positioning advances, yet their widespread deployment threatens user privacy, highlighting a clear divide between Trusted‑Third‑Party and TTP‑free schemes. The article surveys the most relevant techniques for guaranteeing location privacy to LBS users. The survey examines both TTP‑based and TTP‑free approaches, discussing their convenience and outlining future directions for location privacy in LBS. The article finds that both TTP‑based and TTP‑free approaches offer convenience, and it sketches potential future directions for location privacy in LBS.

Abstract

Location-Based Services (LBS) are gaining importance due to the advances in mobile networks and positioning technologies. Nevertheless, the wide deployment of LBS can jeopardise the privacy of their users, so ensuring user privacy is paramount to the success of those services. This article surveys the most relevant techniques for guaranteeing location privacy to LBS users. The rigid dichotomy between schemes which rely on Trusted Third Parties (TTP-based) and those which do not (TTP-free) is emphasised. Also, the convenience of both approaches is discussed and some ideas on the future of location privacy in these services are sketched.