What happened in the 2021 Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill case, and why is it a chilling example of de-anonymization?

A Catholic official was outed and forced to resign after a newsletter bought commercial "anonymized" location data and tied Grindr app usage to his known locations — no hack required.

In July 2021, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, a top official at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), resigned after the newsletter The Pillar published an investigation linking him to the gay dating app Grindr. The data trail:

1. Collection: Grindr's app (via embedded advertising SDKs) shared hashed device IDs, precise GPS, age, gender, and app activity with third parties.
2. Aggregation: data brokers bought and pooled this "anonymized" data into device-movement profiles spanning 2018–2020.
3. De-anonymization: The Pillar correlated device presence at known locations — USCCB headquarters, his family home, public events — with timestamps to conclusively identify him.

The chilling part: this wasn't hacked data — it was purchased openly from data brokers. Your location data can be bought, analyzed, and used to identify and expose you regardless of any "anonymity" promise. It shows surveillance capitalism turning private data into a public weapon.

Tip: "Anonymized" device IDs plus a home address and a workplace are not anonymous — two well-known locations re-identify almost anyone.