GPS Coordinates (Decimal Degrees)

Detects GPS Coordinates (Decimal Degrees) patterns. Requires location/GPS context keywords

Type

regex

Engine

universal

Confidence

medium

Confidence justification

Medium confidence: pattern has structural constraints but corroborative keywords are recommended to reduce false positive rates. Added context gating and exclusion rules improve precision and reduce incidental matches.

Detection quality

Verified

Jurisdictions

global

Regulations

GDPR

Frameworks

ISO 27001, ISO 27701

Data categories

location, pii

Scope

wide

Risk rating

4

Platform compatibility

Purview: Compatible, GCP DLP: Unsupported, Macie: Unsupported, Zscaler: Compatible, Palo Alto: Unsupported, Netskope: Unsupported

Pattern

(?<![\d.])-?(?:90\.0{4,}|[0-8]?\d\.\d{4,})\s*,\s*-?(?:180\.0{4,}|(?:1[0-7]\d|\d{1,2})\.\d{4,})(?!\d)

Corroborative evidence keywords

GPS, coordinates, latitude, longitude, geolocation, decimal degrees, GPS data, GPS coordinates, location data, location tracking, cell tower, triangulation, geo-fence, geofence, location history, data record, database record, record set, data extract, data export (+19 more)

Proximity: 300 characters

Should match

• Location coordinates: -33.8688, 151.2093 — Exact 75 probe - geolocation label without an operational record context
• Asset location GPS coordinates: -33.8688, 151.2093; survey point verified. — Exact 85 probe - explicit coordinate label plus operational asset/survey context
• -33.8688, 151.2093 — Sydney GPS coordinates
• 40.7128, -74.0060 — New York GPS coordinates
• -37.8136, 144.9631 — Melbourne GPS coordinates
• 90.0000, -180.0000 — Exact latitude/longitude endpoints with all-zero fractions are valid

Should not match

• 91.0000, 151.0000 — Latitude above the 90-degree bound is geographically impossible
• -33.0000, 181.0000 — Longitude above the 180-degree bound is geographically impossible
• 90.0001, 180.0000 — Latitude endpoint with a nonzero fractional part is invalid
• -33.86, 151.20 — Too few decimal places (2 instead of minimum 4)
• 40.7128, -74.006 — Only 3 decimal places in longitude (below minimum 4)
• -33.8688 151.2093 — Missing comma separator between coordinates
• template example placeholder record identifier — Template/sample context should be excluded even when anchor words are present
• Public map coordinates: -33.8688, 151.2093 — Published mapping coordinate is vetoed from enforcement by public-map context
• Sample template: asset location GPS coordinates -33.8688, 151.2093; survey point. — Template text contains high-tier evidence but is vetoed by the shared exclusion
• Grid reference: 40° 26' 46" N — Sibling DMS coordinate does not satisfy the decimal-degree primary

Known false positives

• Common words and phrases related to gps coordinates (decimal degrees) appearing in policy documents, training materials, HR templates, or compliance guidelines without actual personal data. Mitigation: Require corroborative evidence keywords within the proximity window to confirm sensitive data context rather than general discussion.
• In English (as the primary international business language), similar terminology used in formal or administrative contexts (education, professional documentation) that does not constitute sensitive data collection. Mitigation: Layer with additional contextual signals such as structured identifiers, form fields, or database column headers to distinguish sensitive records from general references.
• High-frequency pattern matches in large document corpora due to broad regex anchors. Expected match rate is significantly higher than specific identifier patterns. Mitigation: Tune confidence thresholds for bulk scanning. Consider using this pattern primarily as a pre-filter with secondary validation.