Digital trail and right to privacy

Digital trail and right to privacy | Daily Tribune

In Chatrie v United States, decided on 29 June 2026, the US Supreme Court ruled that mobile phone location history is protected by the constitutional right to privacy, even when users share that information with technology companies such as Google.

The case arose from a bank robbery in Midlothian, Virginia. To identify the perpetrator, police obtained a “geofence” warrant directing Google to disclose data relating to all mobile phones located within a 150-meter radius of the bank during the two hours surrounding the robbery.

A geofence is a virtual perimeter that enables investigators to identify devices present within a designated location and time. The information sought included the identities and phone numbers of users whose devices were detected within the geofence.

Okello Chatrie was eventually identified as a suspect after his location history allegedly showed that he entered the geofence approximately 10 minutes before the robbery and proceeded to a residential area shortly after leaving the bank.

During trial, Chatrie moved to suppress the evidence obtained from Google, arguing that the geofence warrant violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches. The District Court denied the motion, holding that the police had acted in good faith in obtaining the warrant.

On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed his conviction, reasoning that Chatrie no longer had a reasonable expectation of privacy because he had voluntarily shared his location data with Google.

The US Supreme Court, through Justice Elena Kagan, reversed. It held that individuals possess a reasonable expectation of privacy in their mobile phone location history because such data provides a detailed chronicle of a person’s movements and daily life.

The Court likened location history to personal emails, documents and photographs — information that people ordinarily regard as private. It emphasized that government access to such data, even for a limited period, constitutes a significant intrusion into personal privacy unless authorized by a warrant that satisfies the Fourth Amendment’s requirements of probable cause and particularity. The case was remanded to determine whether the geofence warrant complied with those constitutional standards.

The Chatrie ruling places meaningful limits on the government’s ability to delve into the digital lives of individuals. It recognizes that while technology continues to evolve, constitutional guarantees must evolve with it to ensure that fundamental rights remain meaningful rather than illusory.

The decision likewise raises an important question for the Philippines. Should our courts likewise recognize a constitutionally protected expectation of privacy over a person’s digital location history?

The issue is far from academic. Filipinos routinely use smartphones, digital wallets, navigation applications, ride-hailing platforms and other location-based services that generate extensive records of their movements.

As law enforcement agencies increasingly rely on digital evidence in criminal investigations, courts will inevitably be asked to strike the proper balance between effective policing and the constitutional right to privacy.

When that day comes, Chatrie may well serve as persuasive authority. Whether Philippine jurisprudence ultimately adopts the same approach remains to be seen, but the decision provides a timely reminder that constitutional liberties must remain as resilient as the technologies that continually test their limits.

For more of Dean Nilo Divina’s legal tidbits, please visit www.divinalaw.com. For comments and questions, please send an email to cad@divinalaw.com.