DEBIAS: Correcting biases in human mobility data from mobile phones for the public good

The DEBIAS project, led by Professor Francisco Rowe and Dr Carmen Cabrera at the University of Liverpool’s Geographic Data Science Lab, is tackling one of the most pressing challenges in our data-driven world: ensuring that digital data used to understand human mobility reflects everyone — not just those most connected or represented online.

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), DEBIAS is one of nine accelerator projects contributing to the UK’s Smart Data Programme.

Mobile phone data have revolutionised how we study population movements, providing vital insights into urban planning, transport, public health and disaster response. Yet, research shows these datasets are often biased — over-representing wealthier, younger or urban users while under-representing poorer, rural and older populations. This imbalance risks distorting our understanding of how people move and live, which can inadvertently reinforce inequality in the design of policies and services.

DEBIAS brings together an international consortium of researchers, data scientists and policy partners from Meta, the International Organization for Migration and Northeastern University to quantify, model and correct these biases. Drawing on millions of anonymised records from mobile network operators and app-based datasets, the project develops statistical “correction factors” that adjust mobility counts to better reflect true population patterns. Its innovative framework combines demographic data, socioeconomic indicators and Bayesian modelling approaches to create bias-adjusted human mobility datasets that are both more accurate and fairer.

The project’s societal and policy significance is profound. By improving the representativeness of mobile-derived population estimates, DEBIAS helps governments and humanitarian agencies design interventions that reach those most at risk, from pandemic responses to climate adaptation and transport planning. Ultimately, DEBIAS is about ensuring that the data shaping tomorrow’s cities, economies and societies work for everyone, not just those visible in the digital traces they leave behind.