The Geolytix Aggregated App location data have been collected and supplied by Geolytix Ltd. for the time period of August 2021 to July 2022. The data contain hourly aggregated activity counts derived from geolocated mobile-phone app data across Great Britain. Mobile phone applications seek user’s consent for recording and storing the mobile device’s GPS location when the app is in use. Footfall and activity proxy counts are derived from these locations as the sum of distinct devices per H3 resolution 11 hexagon grid cell per day. Each hexagon grid cell has an average edge length of 280 meters . Footfall activity count data can provide research value as an estimate of activity levels within local areas, particularly in heavily used urban spaces. They may be linked to workplace zones or geodemographic classifications, for example, to better understand the functioning of local areas. Activity counts not reliant on fixed footfall sensors are valuable in ascertaining activity levels in retail and other locations.

Content

For detailed description of the columns contained within the data, see the Variable Dictionary; and for an overview of the characteristics of the data, see the Data Summary. These files can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

Quality, Representation and Bias

These data have excellent quality and coverage for major towns and cities. The data may be less complete for smaller settlements or more rural areas. Geolytix’s upstream data providers collect data from a varying mix of apps, the identities of which are commercially sensitive and not revealed . Apps supplying data may not be consistent over time. This, along with fluctuations in national coverage and changing mobile phone app uptake, results in variations in apparent activity over the period covered by the data. When utilising these data, they would benefit from triangulation with population estimates (e.g. census data) to investigate coverage issues.