Introduction to the special issue on privacy and security for location-based services and devices

The evolution of mobile phones into smartphones, and the diffusion of location-based services (LBS), are cornerstones of the digital era, but at the same time introduced a number of challenges to the privacy of individuals. Traditional information (as names, addresses and phone numbers) shared across the Internet with an increased number of services is now frequently coupled with positional data. With such detailed information, service providers are able to infer with alarming precision a number of sensitive information about their users, including religious, sexual and political preferences, as well as details of their social relationships and private life in general.