At Mobito, we take rigorous steps to ensure that all vehicle data remains fully anonymised and free of any personally identifiable information (PII). Our anonymisation process ensures compliance with data protection regulations and prevents any possibility of tracking or identifying individual vehicles or drivers.
Probe Data Anonymisation
A. Removal of Personal Identifiers
We begin by stripping out any fields that could directly or indirectly identify a vehicle or its owner, including:
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): A unique code assigned to each car by its manufacturer
License Plate Number: The registration number assigned by authorities.
Any Other Personal Identifiers: Any other metadata that could link the data back to an individual
These are completely removed before any processing begins.
B. Assign Hash IDs to Data Records
To maintain the ability to analyze driving behavior without compromising anonymity, Mobito assigns hashed, temporary identifiers to data records instead of using real vehicle IDs. These include:
Unique ID:
A randomly generated identifier that represents a single vehicle
This ID remains valid for a maximum of 24 hours before being replaced at midnight, meaning the same vehicle receives a different ID each day
This ensures that even if multiple records come from the same vehicle, they can only be linked for one day before the connection is broken
Trip ID:
A unique identifier assigned to a single trip
A trip is defined as the period from when a vehicle starts moving until it comes to a stop
Each time a vehicle stops, a new Trip ID is generated for the next movement
These hashed IDs allow for session-based analysis while preventing any persistent linkage to a specific vehicle.
C. Data Cut-offs (Gaps)
To prevent reverse-engineering of trip origins or destinations, Mobito applies data cut-offs; deliberate gaps in data to break potential tracking patterns.
A data gap is introduced at the beginning and end of every trip
The length of this gap ranges from 50 to 500 meters and/ or from 1 to 3 minutes, preventing pinpointing the exact start and end locations of a trip
The above methods are indented to help businesses and researchers analyse mobility trends while preventing long-term tracking of individual vehicles.
Origin-Destination & Standstill Events Data Anonymization
In addition to probe data, Mobito also provides origin-destination (OD) data and standstill event data. These datasets contain information about where trips start and end, as well as where vehicles remain stationary for extended periods.
Key features:
No Exact Locations: Rather than providing precise latitude and longitude coordinates, Mobito utilizes the H3 hexagonal grid system to generalize locations.
H3-Resolution-11 Precision: Each location is mapped to a hexagonal area ensuring privacy while preserving analytical value.
FAQs
Why is H3 Resolution 11 used, and can I request a different resolution?
Why is H3 Resolution 11 used, and can I request a different resolution?
Mobito uses H3 Resolution 11 to balance privacy protection and analytical value. This resolution ensures sensitive locations are generalised without significantly impacting insights. If your project requires less precision, lower resolution levels (H3-1 to H3-10) can be provided upon request. Higher precision is not supported for privacy reasons.
Can I use this data for long-term vehicle tracking across multiple days?
Can I use this data for long-term vehicle tracking across multiple days?
No. By design, Unique IDs reset every 24 hours, and Trip IDs change after each stop. These limits are intentional to prevent tracking any single vehicle across days or over multiple trips.
Will data gaps (cut-offs) affect trip-based analysis?
Will data gaps (cut-offs) affect trip-based analysis?
While data cut-offs remove some data at the start and end of trips, they are short enough (50–500 meters or 1–3 minutes) to preserve overall trip structure and behaviour. For most use cases, like origin-destination analysis or traffic flow insights, the analytical value remains intact.
Can Mobito provide data that excludes cut-offs or uses full GPS points?
Can Mobito provide data that excludes cut-offs or uses full GPS points?
No. To comply with privacy regulations and uphold our data standards, Mobito does not deliver datasets without anonymisation. All deliveries include data cut-offs and generalised locations by default.