Josh OngAt the event, covered by The Associated Press, Facebook showed off their latest feature, which allows users to "check-in" with their location. Upon checking in, users will be able to see who else is at their location and tag friends who are there with them. Using Places, businesses will eventually be able to claim their own locations and offer discounts or promotions to users.
The feature will be available through a free update of the Facebook iPhone app and at touch.facebook.com, Facebook's website for touchscreen mobile devices. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company plans to develop the feature for other smartphone apps later on.
Rather than competing directly with rival websites offering location services, Facebook is partnering with them, including several key startups, such as Gowalla, Foursquare, and Yelp. Badges and check-ins will carry over to and from these sites and Facebook.
Facebook, which has faced strong criticism in the past over user privacy issues, is taking a cautious approach with its launch of Places. According to Jules Polonetsky, co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, Places "seems to logically reflect what users expect." Users will be prompted by the app to share their location, which will be available to friends by default.
Concerns have also been raised in the past about Apple's use of location services. In June, two US Congressmen demanded answers from Apple about a new "Location-Based Services" section of the company's iOS privacy policy. Apple quickly responded, explaining its policies. In its reply, Apple noted that, beginning with iPhone OS version 3.2, it had begun using its own databases for location-based services.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Sponsored Content
22 Comments
where is the future leading to? first older generations complaining how youngsters don't like talking on the phone, and they'd rather do it on a computer via e-mail. now, we have devices with instant chat, text, voice, photos, videos, internet, video calling, etc. on top of all of that, we have location services. how common will this be in 5-10 years, are we going to always know where someone is at any given moment? i think so. scary, a little. facebook status updates are a joke in the first place. i don't need to know when someone just woke up, or is going to sleep, or if someone is tired, or whatever. useless info, yes. invasion of privacy or lack of privacy, yes. most people don't even know, they just post or update status with location info. what if a shady neighbor or thief gets a hold of this info, "on vacation for 1 month"! let's just be smart about all of this if it is the future.
... most people don't even know, they just post or update status with location info. what if a shady neighbor or thief gets a hold of this info, "on vacation for 1 month"! let's just be smart about all of this if it is the future.
Working in law enforcement, I definitely agree with this sentiment. I urge people to not post their daily routines, work hours, location of work or home, and to stay away from location services (like the stuff that says "Checked In @...". Make sure settings are as private as you can get, and always always remember: Once info is on the net, its very hard to take it off.
Just be smart about what you say and do, use common sense, and always do your best to instruct your children about the dangers and advantages to the internet and social networks. Don't be scared, but don't be haphazard either.
(Plus, do you really want us officers and our black helicopters to know your every move that much easier? )
Google is nowhere in social media. This move tonight is the nail in the coffin.
where is the future leading to? first older generations complaining how youngsters don't like talking on the phone, and they'd rather do it on a computer via e-mail. now, we have devices with instant chat, text, voice, photos, videos, internet, video calling, etc. on top of all of that, we have location services. how common will this be in 5-10 years, are we going to always know where someone is at any given moment? i think so. scary, a little. facebook status updates are a joke in the first place. i don't need to know when someone just woke up, or is going to sleep, or if someone is tired, or whatever. useless info, yes. invasion of privacy or lack of privacy, yes. most people don't even know, they just post or update status with location info. what if a shady neighbor or thief gets a hold of this info, "on vacation for 1 month"! let's just be smart about all of this if it is the future.
Working in law enforcement, I definitely agree with this sentiment. I urge people to not post their daily routines, work hours, location of work or home, and to stay away from location services (like the stuff that says "Checked In @...". Make sure settings are as private as you can get, and always always remember: Once info is on the net, its very hard to take it off.
Just be smart about what you say and do, use common sense, and always do your best to instruct your children about the dangers and advantages to the internet and social networks. Don't be scared, but don't be haphazard either.
(Plus, do you really want us officers and our black helicopters to know your every move that much easier? )
To each their own I guess.
I think you are both over-reacting in strange and scary ways. The top one sounds like a breathless rant from Grampa on the Simpsons and is likewise, almost unintelligible. The bottom one is insane paranoid fear-mongering, with a touch of creepy.
People can probably share their location information with friends without the world coming to a fiery end.
The bottom one is insane paranoid fear-mongering, with a touch of creepy.
People can probably share their location information with friends without the world coming to a fiery end.
When you work with the kinds of crime that I do, it gets to you a bit. No, sharing your location will not bring fire and brimstone to the world, and the likely hood of something bad happening to you as a direct relation to your sharing of that info is statistically small. All I am saying, is just be smart about what you share. Criminals can be pretty smart when they want to be. I've already had a few Facebook related crimes that I have worked on where someone's posting that they will be out of town has caused a robbery of their home.