Google Latitude, The Beginning of the End
With release of Google Latitude and the birth of wide spread people tracking technology, we are onto the next stage of improved social tools at the expense of privacy. From the Google Blog:
Latitude is a new feature of Google Maps for mobile, as well as an iGoogle gadget, that allows you to share your location with your friends and to see their approximate locations, if they choose to share them with you. You can use your Google account to sign in and easily invite friends to Latitude from your existing list of contacts or by entering their email addresses. Google Talk is integrated with Latitude, so you and your friends can update your status messages and profile photos on the go and see what everyone is up to. You can also call, SMS, IM, or email each other within the app
With a few simple clicks of the mouse, a whole new world of detail can pervade one’s existence and create opportunities for the less scrupulous of us. With the addition of location information along with credit information, corporations can track to an even greater depth what you can and cannot do.
Recently it was reported in the New York Times that American Express was changing your credit limit based on where and whom you shop with:
In recent months, American Express has gone far beyond simply checking your credit score and making sure you pay on time. The company has been looking at home prices in your area, the type of mortgage lender you’re using and whether small-business card customers work in an industry under siege. It has also been looking at how you spend your money, searching for patterns or similarities to other customers who have trouble paying their bills.
Not only is it possible to see your transactions at the local Cash Converters or Value Village, simply being in the vicinity of a Dollar Store makes you a credit risk. This ability will soon be available to any developer:
In the meantime, with Latitude Google is moving to commoditize both the map information and the location beacon. Google is using triangulation data from cellular networks, and Wi-Fi positioning along with GPS data for its Latitude offering. It is only a matter of time before this location information is made available to other developers for free, especially Android app developers. After all, Google needs apps for its Android platform, and more importantly it needs developers to think differently.
The issues do not stop at intrusive corporations, according to Privacy International it can also extend to unwanted attention from unsavory types:
“The company has a long way to go before it can capture the trust of phone users. As it stands right now, Latitude could be a gift to stalkers, prying employers, jealous partners and obsessive friends. The dangers to a user’s privacy and security are as limitless as the imagination of those who would abuse this technology.”
Couple that with long time Google wannabe, Microsoft Live Maps and you have a potential problem waiting to happen.
Next up, pre-crime….
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[...] In recent months, American Express has gone far beyond simply checking your credit score and making sure you pay on time. The company has been looking at home prices in your area, the type of mortgage lender you’re using and whether … Read more [...]
Very cool but kind of scary the level this is reaching. It seems just yesterday when gmail launched, now we have sites like facebook, twitter and now services like Latitude!
.-= Adam @ Eyeclops Night Vision Goggles V2´s last blog ..Eyeclops Night Vision Binoculars =-.
I agree with you, limited to friends can be okay but you get all these at the expense of your privacy and many youngsters don’t understand where to set their limits. With the burst of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, many youngsters are clueless what to post and what to not.
One should be taught of the uses and abuses of this technology. It has many advantages but there are disadvantages too which people should care about and make the best use of the advantages.