Location-Tracking Services: Why You Should Think Twice

[Peaches]

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Location-Tracking Services: Why You Should Think Twice

Analysis: Apple, Google, Facebook and others all want to track your travels, but location privacy is an important consideration.

Dan Tynan, ITworld

Jun 27, 2010 8:12 am

The three most important keys to retail success are also the most important ones to your privacy in the 21st century. Which is why you should be keeping a watchful eye on all those big corporations that are keeping a watchful eye on you -- like Google, Twitter, Facebook, AT&T, Verizon, and Apple, to name a few.

All of these companies have recently added (or are on the verge of adding) location-centric services. Twitter can now not only tell what city I'm in, but what neighborhood (and I don't live in a very big place). Apple just made headlines thanks to its new iPhone privacy policy, which as the Los Angeles Times notes, lets it collect

"...the "precise," "real-time geographic location" of its users' iPhones, iPads and computers.

In an updated version of its privacy policy, the company added a paragraph noting that once users agree, Apple and unspecified "partners and licensees" may collect and store user location data.

Mch of the data gathering, like Apple's with the iPhone, is done anonymously (at least in theory -- I'm sure if Apple can deliver a specific ad to your cell phone based on your location it can ID you if it really needs to).

Why should you care? Well there are a few reasons. One is whether you welcome the idea of getting ads sent to you based on your location in meatspace (ie, real life) as opposed to virtual space.

Full story worth reading - http://www.pcworld.com/article/199929/locationtracking_services_why_you_should_think_twice.html