Authors: Clare Duffy and Josue Rocha
DFRWS USA 2026
Abstract
Can law enforcement be tracked by a Bluetooth tracking app? This presentation examines the detection and forensic analysis of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals emitted by law-enforcement body-worn cameras. Prompted by reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection restricted body-camera usage after claims agents could be tracked and geolocated via BLE, this presentation will outline collection methods, survey BLE-tracking applications, and detail the artifacts created on Android devices during scanning (e.g., SQLite records, timestamps, geolocation, and identifiers). Additionally, this presentation will review parsing approaches with standard forensic tools and compare measured detection ranges to public claims. The session evaluates the reliability and validity of public tracking claims, along with providing takeaways for documentation, reporting, and policy.