Geotagging: next big thing, or next big thing to worry about?

Is Geotagging the next big privacy issue?

It works like this: with more and more of our computing devices (e.g. smartphones) containing built-in GPS capabilities, the technology exists for newly created data – like a document or a photo – to also contain the coordinates, in the form of latitude and longitude, of the place where it was created. The coordinates are stored as metadata within the file and can also be accessed by other applications.

This feature has some nice uses with photography, both still and video. Just about all smartphone cameras seem to have this feature built in, and at first glance it seems to be an extension of the ability to record the date and time the photos were taken. The continued convergence of GPS with other apps seems inevitable, something along the lines of the principle “If someone can do it, someone will do it.”

But there’s a potential downside too. Photos uploaded to social media sites have the potential for advertising all our valuable stuff, and then announcing where we are – or aren’t. And increasingly, users seem unaware that the feature exists or is turned on. An interesting article in the NY Times tells the story of Mythbuster guy Adam Savage who unknowingly Tweeted a photo of his Land Rover in his driveway that also included the coordinates of his house (he’s since moved).

The theory is that exposing your location puts you at risk from stalkers (they know where you are) and burglars (they know where you aren’t) alike. To my knowledge, no one has been able to point to either of these things happening – yet. Still, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious, especially if you’re posting pictures of your kids (or your kids are posting pictures of themselves).

A supposed White Hat Hacker with the handle ‘Creepy Stalker Guy’ has set up a Twitter account called ICanStalkU which is broadcasting a continuous feed of the posts, tweets and photos out there that also advertise exactly where the poster is. I take it he’s trying to make a point, though I’m not 100% sure what it is.

So should we worry? Certainly there’s a risk here, but I think we should beware of over reacting. The technology has its uses and it’s not going away. The key I think is to (1) make sure everyone knows about and understands it, and (2) make changing the default setting, i.e. turning it OFF, easy to find and manage.

Also, I applaud Twitter’s implementation, where you can set your “Geotag Precision” to Exact, Neighborhood or City. I think all implementations of geotagging should be done this way.

There will always be new technologies that some of us will loathe and others embrace (think RFID). Unless it’s something that harms society itself, we should accommodate everyone on the spectrum. The key is ease of customization coupled with fully informed consent.