So you leave the house, grab a light snack or cup of coffee on your way to work, pull into the garage to fill up your petrol tank, watch the pedestrians cross the road while waiting for the light to turn green, park your car at work and when the clock strikes five, you briefly stop by the pub for a drink before heading home again.
So you leave the house, grab a light snack or cup of coffee on your way to work, pull into the garage to fill up your petrol tank, watch the pedestrians cross the road while waiting for the light to turn green, park your car at work and when the clock strikes five, you briefly stop by the pub for a drink before heading home again.
This is literally what a person can see you doing as they track your movements on their cell phone using a Google Map app called the Google Latitude.
This supposedly amazing app allows you to ‘share’ your life with your friends and family by allowing them to see and track all of your movements during the day.
Whether you’re on an outdoor trip, going for a run, hiking, cycling or travelling by train or car, you can basically invite your loved ones to ‘join’ you on your trips.
All that is needed for this joy ride is a GPS and 3G-enabled device that can run the app.
Smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy series, Blackberry OS, Androids, HTC and iPhones are ideal for this app and you can download it for free.
The way it works is you invite a friend or family member by typing in their phone number and they have the choice to either accept or refuse to join the app.
Once accepted, you can track one another’s movements and know their exact GPS coordinates, the direction they’re heading in, how long they have left until they reach their destination, what speed they’re travelling at and the duration of their journey.
A track colour trails along the map as the person movesm and an interactive chat box also enables you to send and receive text messages from the people you’ve added to your contacts list.
The app relies on GPS satellites, Wi-Fi or cellular towers in order to upload and update GPS positions. Since it’s an opt-in-only feature, Google Latitude allows you to manually enter your coordinates, hide your location or turn it off and sign out altogether.
The impression that I get is that this app is ideal for ‘location sharing’ as well as feeling more plugged in with other people’s lives.
As fascinating as the whole notion is, it’s unsettling to know that my every movement could be known and seen.
What if I want to run out for a quick cup of coffee and I don’t want my friend to see that I’m right around the corner from his house?
Or if I can’t make it to a dinner because I’m 'visiting a friend in hospital’ when I’m actually at home snacking on the couch?
I’m sure this app is handy for parents who want to know their children’s whereabouts and for tracking a lost cell phone though.
Even though the app allows you to limit how specific your location is, if you suddenly disappear from the map or opt to show only limited information, it’s going to look a tad strange.
I reckon that staying away from this app altogether is the best way to go.
