ZKLP system allows apps to confirm user presence in a region without exposing exactly where

Computer scientists from universities in Germany, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom have proposed a way to provide verifiable claims about location data without surrendering privacy.

The technique, referred to as Zero-Knowledge Location Privacy (ZKLP), aims to provide access to unverified location data in a way that preserves privacy without sacrificing accuracy and utility for applications that might rely on such data. It's described in a paper [PDF] presented this week at the 2025 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy.

Location data, obtained from mobile phones and apps among other sources, has become highly sought after by data brokers. But it's particularly sensitive. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation observes, it "can reveal where we live and work, who we associate with, and where we worship, protest, and seek medical care."

In their paper, authors Jens Ernstberger (Technical University of Munich), Chengru Zhang (University of Hong Kong), Luca Ciprian ...