Image via WikipediaA great presentation that everyone should read is called, “Social Media Roundup Geotags and Location-Based Social Networking Applications, OPSEC and Protecting Unit Safety.” I recommend using your favorite search engine to find a copy. While the presentation is geared for military units, the information also is useful for business and personal life.In a nutshell, if you have a device (e.g., phone or camera) capable of geotagging and you publish the information to a public website, the potential exists that you left a digital footprint of when and where you have been. Why? A geotagged photo contains geographic metadata about where you took the picture. geotagging can be fun and provides businesses with the capability for location-based awareness for commerce.
It is easy to take geotagged pictures with our mobile devices and cameras and place them on social websites. In fact, people take great pleasure in doing this.
However, with most technologies they can be used for good or bad, and placing the photos on a website may cause the poster to publicly offer information he or she did not know they were posting.
When you post a photo, it has attribution—that means who you are. A geotagged photo includes the following GPS metadata:
- Latitude
- Longitude
- Time stamp
Together they tell something about what you did and when you did it.
Depending on the website and how you configured the security settings, you may allow someone who you did not intend view the locations of your travels. Based on this information, he or she can possibly conjecture where to find you at a particular time of day, as well as where you live and work.
So, what is the right thing to do?
First, knowing when to turn off the GPS function is key. Second, reach out to your family, friends and coworkers to be sure they are aware of the potential security issues and settings for geotagging photos on public websites. Third, define your risk tolerance if you publish geotagged photos and know when and how to control the GPS functionality on your device and the website you posted the photos.
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If you want an alternative to disabling the GPS radio on your smart phone to prevent geotagging photos, you could use Pixelgarde Photo Privacy Editor. Its a free application for iPhone users (add supported) and could be a useful alternative for those who want to keep geotags for personal use, but don’t want to share a GPS location with the photos they post online.
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