Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

All mobile phones logged into the Wi-Fi network at Helsinki Airport will be monitored by an in-house tracking system that identifies passengers’ real-time movements.

The technology has been criticised by privacy advocate groups, but is said to be aimed at monitoring crowds and preventing bottlenecking at the airport, which sees around 15 million passengers a year, Bloomberg reports.

About 150 white boxes, each the size of a wireless internet router, have been placed at various points around the airport. Equipped with tracking technology from the Finland-based retail analytics company Walkbase, each device is designed to collect the “unique identifier numbers” of all mobile phones which have Wi-Fi access switched on. Users wanting access to the WiFi network will be notified of the monitoring system before they log in to the network.

Passengers can also "opt-in" for other services, by logging into the network via an application such as an airline app or retail store app, to receive sales offers from the airport’s 35 shops and 32 restaurants and cafes, in addition to any relevant flight information.

Currently at its initial phase, the full tracking system is expected to be in place by the end of this year which could enable shops to specifically target passengers that are within their vicinities, such as a deli that could alert a passenger walking by of a certain item on sale.