Location Services Raise Privacy Concerns 152
megahurt writes "Location-based services are becoming more common, and the features they add to mobile devices can be useful and even fun. But the downside is that everyone who reads the posting will know the user isn't home. On top of that, some services, such as Foursquare, can be linked to Twitter feeds. Peter Eckersley, senior staff technologist, says there are many situations in which the location data that is kept could be misused. Many of the providers of services say in their privacy policies they will give up the data in cases where it is subpoenaed. That isn't always from law enforcement; sometimes the data can be used in civil lawsuits such as divorce cases."
Re:Simple fix (Score:4, Informative)
A lot of phones will offer location information using cell towers if GPS isn't available. It's not as accurate, but it's "close enough" for most purposes.
Latitude (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Simple fix (Score:1, Informative)
Many phones will also determine location via nearby wi-fi access points.
If you don't want people to know where you are, don't use the services.
Re:Need locational anonymity scheme (Score:4, Informative)
There must be a way to get the location services you want, like finding the local Krispy-Kreme, without broadcasting your location to the service in question. Like a blocked phone number.
The services mentioned here are only those that you explicitly run that you give permission to broadcast your location. Google Latitude, for example, will show your location on Google Maps to everyone you give permission to show it to.
It's not just your GPS that can get you in trouble, but your own stupidity can do just as well of a job. An example would be taking a picture a of a well known foreign landmark while vacationing and posting it on your Facebook page with the caption, "Look at what I saw today".
It's also a good idea to NOT geo-tag your photos if you take them of anyplace you don't want people to know the location of, like your living room in front of your new big screen TV and pile of cash.
Re:You don't have to use these services (Score:2, Informative)
You purposely mistake ignorance of the law and ignorance in a "logical" demonstration of why they are the same...
So either your thoughs are so unclear you can't produce anything but crap OR you think people reading you are just so dumb they'll buy it.
I'm gonna go with the first one, as the law would because you're presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Yes the law states that nobody shall ignore the law. It's not about making excuses it's just about plain "common sense" for once ! if the law did not state that then it would have no use. Each and every dispute would turn into a "did he know about that law" argument and it would be a mess.
Now OTOH ignorance is certainly a good excuse :
Mr X you are suing BigCo for sucking your blood dry after selling a contract in which they bonded you to give them each and every penny you would ever make for the rest of your life in a legal language so inextricable that we are still trying to figure out exactly what they meant in the first place.
BigCo says you signed it so you should pay.
Mr X hear says it's not his fault he signed it because the nice guy from BigCo who spent 2 afternoons explaining it to him convinced him it was a good move
What does the law say ? Mr X was actually led to believe it was a good move and then fucked up the ass, and the law protects citizen against scams by asking BigCo to provide its customers with contracts that are understandable (or at least can be understood by a lawyer)
So what exactly does the law do ? it protects Mr X from its own ignorance. It's legal ignorance in this particular matter, meaning Mr X is, like 99% of the population incapable of fully understanding of the ramifications and implications of a complex contract, but it could be other ignorance, for instance the law protects smokers from big Tabacco by making cigarette manufacturers put warning labels on the cigarette packs.
The law is about protecting the weak from the excesses of the strong, and most of the time the strong is the one that knows and the weak the one that doesn't.