geofence warrant
Definition
A court-issued search warrant that requires a technology company, such as Google, to provide data on all mobile devices that were present within a specific geographic area (a 'geofence') during a defined time period, often used in criminal investigations to identify potential suspects.
A type of reverse location warrant employed by law enforcement when the time and approximate location of a crime are known, but the perpetrator's identity is not, allowing access to location history from cell towers or apps.
Examples
The detective slapped a geofence warrant on the crime scene faster than you can say 'location services enabled.'
Thanks to that geofence warrant, everyone who grabbed coffee near the bank heist is now a person of interest—talk about a latte suspect list.
In the battle of privacy vs. progress, the geofence warrant is the digital dragnet that's equal parts genius and 'oops, wrong jogger.'
She dodged the geofence warrant by turning off her phone—old school stealth in a world of always-on tracking.