Explore routes: kicksharing will help in the search for missing people
The largest scooter distributors will help in the search for missing people, Izvestia has learned. At the request of search and rescue teams and government agencies, they will share with them information about where and when these people used rented equipment, representatives of kicksharing companies said. Earlier, the authorities instructed to work out the issue of involving mobile operators in the search for the missing. Due to the high accuracy of the geodata, their data will help determine the search directions. However, the mechanism for the prompt transmission of such information should satisfy search purposes and at the same time exclude the possibility of abuse, the companies themselves believe.
Businesses are more actively helping in the search for missing people
The kicksharing business is starting to cooperate with search and rescue teams to assist them in locating missing people. Thus, MTS Yuret, the second largest scooter rental operator, and LizaAlert have already signed a cooperation agreement, according to joint materials from the parties reviewed by Izvestia.
—MTS Yrent, upon request, will report on the presence or absence of accounts of missing people in the service's application, as well as help establish their last location using the available data on the trips of such users," a kicksharing representative explained to Izvestia.
He stressed that we are not talking about the exchange of personal customer data between the company and a public organization. Information that does not contain, for example, specific phone numbers, addresses, or bank card numbers will be transmitted to rescuers when they provide documents from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the missing user is wanted, the company explained.
The Whoosh service is also ready to provide information about missing people to search services if there is an official request from the Ministry of Internal Affairs for their search, the organization said.
Grigory Sergeev, chairman of the LizaAlert search and rescue team, noted that any additional information about the last location of the missing person increases the chances of a rescue. Now, according to representatives of kicksharing companies, they provide LizaAlert volunteers with the personal mobility equipment (SIM) necessary for their work.
Izvestia sent a request to Yandex, which also provides kicksharing services.
Earlier, the government outlined the need to involve high-tech companies that receive customer location data in the search for missing people. Among them are mobile operators. On June 30, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed operators at a strategic session on the development of the communications industry to provide search and rescue teams with information about the location of missing people's smartphones.
"Several more specific instructions have been given by the Ministry of Finance. In particular, by November 3, the ministry should evaluate the possibility of <...> providing telecom operators with information about the location of missing people's mobile phones," the government said in a statement posted on its website. It is noted that this measure is necessary to facilitate the search for lost or abducted citizens.
— When a person disappears, promptness is important. As part of the assignment, we will work out how to simplify and speed up the process of transferring geodata to search and rescue teams in critical situations, while ensuring the requirements for personal data protection, the ministry told Izvestia.
The Russian authorities want to involve companies with information about the location of their customers in the search for missing people, and along with mobile operators, kicksharing is in the forefront, since it is possible to accurately and promptly transmit information about where the scooters are located, said Denis Kuskov, CEO of TelecomDaily.
The fact that rental companies express a desire to cooperate with rescuers is quite logical, the expert believes. Indeed, from a technical point of view, scooter navigation modules are not much different from smartphones, so regulatory requirements for connecting them to the search for missing citizens can be introduced fairly quickly.
According to Denis Kuskov, data from kicksharing companies, along with information from mobile operators and banks (about the locations of recent transactions from the missing person's bank card), is extremely important for searches, especially in the first days after the disappearance: there is no unnecessary information in such cases. However, it is relevant in densely populated areas and urbanized territories, the expert said.
What data will help to find the disappeared
LizaAlert says that 50,175 citizens disappeared in Russia in 2024. Of these, 39,462 were alive, and 3,178 died.
In April 2025, Beeline and LizaAlert launched a joint service that allows you to receive data on the location of a missing person's mobile phone within a few minutes if the SIM card is issued to a relative who requested geolocation data, the operator's press service said.
— Previously, fast transmission of such information was possible only when contacting the office, if the SIM card was issued to a close relative who personally confirms his intention to request geolocation. In other cases, it took much longer, up to several weeks," his representative said.
Using data from mobile operators can really speed up the process of searching for missing people due to the high accuracy of geodata and the ability to determine the direction of movement, the Megafon press service noted. However, the mechanism for the prompt transmission of such information should satisfy search purposes and at the same time exclude opportunities for abuse, they added. The operator is ready to participate in the development of this socially significant initiative.
— We provide information on a simplified procedure in 2021 — without a court decision, at the request of the body carrying out operational investigative activities. The topic is critically important for society, and we are ready to consider ways to improve the effectiveness of the search for missing persons, but only within the legal framework," said Daria Kolesnikova, a representative of t2.
In fact, the issue of transferring the data of missing people requires legislative and legal study so that people do not face the fact that sensitive data is being transferred to them without their knowledge, says Sergey Polovnikov, head of the Content-Review project. It would be advisable to give people the opportunity to choose whether to transfer their geodata to rescue services or not — in the case of minors and the elderly, relatives can consent to the transfer of such information, he believes.
An important addition to geodata and the analysis of telephone traffic in the search for missing people is biometrics, which is now being massively implemented by both government agencies and private companies, the expert believes. Analyzing data from smart surveillance cameras will make it possible to find not only people who are really lost, but also those who are consciously trying to escape, he concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
