Anomaly Six
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media intelligence, Location data analytics |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | Brendan Huff, Jeffrey Heinz |
| Headquarters | Alexandria , United States |
Area served | Global |
| Products | Global location data solutions |
| Website | www |
Anomaly Six (A6) operates as a media intelligence firm that focuses on providing global location data solutions to both U.S. government entities and private organizations. Its technology is integrated into more than 500 mobile applications, allowing the monitoring of hundreds of millions of smartphones. The company asserts it can monitor up to 3 billion devices in real time.
History
Established in 2018 by Brendan Huff and Jeffrey Heinz, both former military intelligence professionals, Anomaly Six is based in Alexandria, Virginia.
The firm collects cell phone location information through partnerships with advertisers who access this data via embedded software development kits (SDKs) within widely used mobile applications. App developers frequently authorize third-party SDK integration for revenue, and some apps even include SDKs developed by Anomaly Six itself. This data gathering is usually disclosed in lengthy and complex terms of service agreements, while most app privacy policies do not clearly indicate the presence of embedded SDKs.
In September 2020, the company secured its first known government contract when U.S. Special Operations Command Africa awarded Anomaly Six $589,500 for a "Commercial Telemetry Feed."
By April 2022, Anomaly Six showcased its tracking capabilities by monitoring the mobile devices of CIA and NSA staff during a meeting with Zignal Labs, a potential collaborator; however, discussions with Zignal Labs were subsequently halted.