A Freedom of Information request has revealed that London’s Metropolitan Police requested communications data from technology companies more than 700,000 times during 2025, highlighting the scale of modern digital surveillance.
The requests covered mobile networks, email providers and online services. Although they generally did not involve message content, they could include metadata such as account details, IP addresses and contact records.
The figures also showed a nearly 500 per cent increase in requests to Lyca Mobile, while data was sought from services including Proton, Signal, Uber and Deliveroo. Some privacy-focused providers disputed aspects of the figures.
For businesses, the findings are a reminder that metadata can reveal a great deal about people, communications and behaviour, making data governance and privacy controls increasingly important.