Big Brother (ParkMobile) Will Be Watching in Florence

 

Florence Mayor Handy Dandy Andy Betterton says that he's excited for the City to be partnering with ParkMobile. The question may be just how excited should you be that ParkMobile could have a great deal of information about you which it forwards on a regular basis to the City and who knows who else.

The mobile app collects the following:

License plate number

Phone number

E-mail address

Vehicle's nickname (if provided)

Bank card info (allegedly not given out)

Location of meter or lot where parked

Length of time spent in parking place

In other words, whoever at the City of Florence with access to the parking data could possibly see that your daughter "Sissy" parked in front of Trowbridge's at lunch time last week and that you (or someone driving your car labeled as "Self") spent two hours parked in front of On the Rocks last month.

While bank information is encrypted, the company's records were hacked by Russian cybercriminals in 2021. The information was then posted online.

In other words, keep several quarters handy when parking at a Florence meter.

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