Why is that billboard smiling at you? Because it tracks your smartphone MAC address to advertise

[Silent3]

19. Cell phones are inherently tracking devices

They need to have unique IDs in order to function properly, and to broadcast those unique IDs to the world around them.

If you don't want to facilitate your own tracking, I'm afraid cell phones aren't for you.

The question is, do you find that basic capability scary in and of itself, or only particular exploitations of that technology?

Under a much better system of laws than we have now, I'd want commercial exploitation of this capability strongly restricted to clear opt-in uses with tough limits on B2B sharing of consumer data, and government surveillance exploitation to be limited to duly warranted investigations approved by non-rubber stamping judges.

As a practical matter, however, I'm not personally scared by any of this, just mildly annoyed. It's more a matter of the principle of the thing that bothers me, and a more intellectual than emotional concern for potential abuse.