iBeacon

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What Does iBeacon Mean?

An iBeacon is a type of small-scale network transmitter that can be used to identify and track smart phones. Although it is trademarked by Apple, iBeacon is also available on Android devices.

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The iBeacon works on a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) platform. The system helps users to send and receive signals across small physical areas.

Techopedia Explains iBeacon

The emergence of iBeacon for Apple OS7 launched a controversy about privacy, as tech experts pointed out that the structure of use has changed from opt-in to opt-out. Some elements of user permission have been navigated and iBeacon can allow parties to put messages on a smart device screen, even if the related application is dormant. However, others point out that uninstalling apps removes the ability of the senders to target a smartphone.

In some senses, the use of iBeacon is relevant to the emergence of small cellular base stations, sometimes called picocells, that extend wireless services where larger networks can’t reach, usually in interior areas. Experts in the use of iBeacon and related technologies point out that it is becoming popular for use in stores and shopping malls, as a kind of commercial network traffic handler. iBeacon has also been linked to the Internet of Things (IoT), where many different kinds of devices are extensively linked together.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.