More Straight Goods on Location: Bluetooth and Location Permission Opt-in Rates

Early in 2015, we took a deep look at how many users have their bluetooth on. As pioneers in the beacon and location-based marketing space, this was a question Rover was often asked. Ultimately, the ability to leverage the power of beacons — whether for data collection or location-based marketing, requires mobile users to have their bluetooth on.

Given the interest this post had generated, we wanted to revisit this question, looking at newer data to provide a more contemporary view of how many users have bluetooth on. Below are the results of our latest findings in June 2017. Due to it’s importance in location-based marketing campaign efforts, new this year are some numbers around how many users have opted in to location services. This is especially important given recent updates to location services opt-in on iOS. Taking advantages of location technologies like beacons, geofencing, and way-finding requires attention to location-permission opt ins and a strategy to grow this audience.

Findings Summary

• Previous research from 2015 saw ~40% bluetooth on rates among North American mobile users
• Bluetooth ‘on’ rates have increased significantly to over 60% (~20% growth since spring 2015)
• Location-services opt-ins come in at ~55–60% of users