A method of auto-calibrating light sensor data of a mobile device, the method comprising: sending, by the mobile device, one or more messages to one or more servers in order to obtain one or more reference parameters representative of light sensor data collected by a light sensor of a reference device other than the mobile device; obtaining, by the mobile device, one or more reference parameters, from said one or more servers over a network dynamically during an instance of an auto-calibrating process, representative of light sensor data collected by the reference device; collecting, by the mobile device, light sensor data from a light sensor included in the mobile device, wherein collecting the light sensor data from the light sensor included in the mobile device includes collecting the light sensor data from the light sensor while the mobile device is located in a first environment, and wherein the light sensor data collected by the reference device is collected while the reference device is located in a second environment that is separate and distinct from the first environment, wherein the second environment is a controlled environment that comprises the reference device subjected to a plurality of controlled lighting conditions to generate the light sensor data collected by the reference device; calculating one or more sample parameters of the light sensor data obtained from the light sensor included in the mobile device; determining a calibration model for auto-calibrating the light sensor data of the light sensor included in the mobile device based on the one or more reference parameters and the one or more sample parameters, wherein determining the calibration model includes calculating a calibration factor based on the one or more reference parameters and the one or more sample parameters using a maximum likelihood estimator; and performing a light sensing operation, by the mobile device, that includes adjusting the light sensor data collected from the light sensor included in the mobile device based on the calibration factor. sending, by the mobile device, one or more messages to one or more servers in order to obtain one or more reference parameters representative of light sensor data collected by a light sensor of a reference device other than the mobile device; obtaining, by the mobile device, one or more reference parameters, from said one or more servers over a network dynamically during an instance of an auto-calibrating process, representative of light sensor data collected by the reference device; collecting, by the mobile device, light sensor data from a light sensor included in the mobile device, wherein collecting the light sensor data from the light sensor included in the mobile device includes collecting the light sensor data from the light sensor while the mobile device is located in a first environment, and wherein the light sensor data collected by the reference device is collected while the reference device is located in a second environment that is separate and distinct from the first environment, wherein the second environment is a controlled environment that comprises the reference device subjected to a plurality of controlled lighting conditions to generate the light sensor data collected by the reference device; calculating one or more sample parameters of the light sensor data obtained from the light sensor included in the mobile device; determining a calibration model for auto-calibrating the light sensor data of the light sensor included in the mobile device based on the one or more reference parameters and the one or more sample parameters, wherein determining the calibration model includes calculating a calibration factor based on the one or more reference parameters and the one or more sample parameters using a maximum likelihood estimator; and performing a light sensing operation, by the mobile device, that includes adjusting the light sensor data collected from the light sensor included in the mobile device based on the calibration factor.