geofence warrant

A geofence warrant is a type of search warrant that involves law enforcement requesting information from a geofence, which is the bulk retrieval of data from all devices that were in a specific geographical area at a specific time. The warrants are typically executed upon technology companies that collect location data, such as Google.

Geofence warrants are controversial because they reverse the traditional process for a search warrant, where instead of law enforcement seeking information on a particular suspect, they request information for all people who may have been present in an area to determine who may be a suspect. Due to this, the constitutionality of geofence warrants is frequently litigated when they are used.

Geofences are currently constitutional but are considered to be a search under the Fourth Amendment, which entitles those who may be subject to the particular geofence to the reasonable expectation of privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment. See: Chatrie v. United States, 609 U.S. __ (2026) and mosaic theory.

[Last reviewed in September of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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