After launching (incredible!)version 5.0 of Google Earth,Google has launched yet another service for its users worldwide(27 countries to be precise).It’s Google Latitude.This service is meant to help its users broadcast their approximate physical locations to anybody whom they want it to be shared to.The location will be tracked on Google Maps,a popular service by Google.At the moment, Blackberry S60, and Windows Mobile are supporting this feature(provided you download the latest version of Google Maps with Latitude for your mobile).
Within a week,Android will start supporting this feature.There’s no official date confirmed for arrival of ‘Latitude support’ for iPhone but it will happen soon through Google Mobile App for iPhone.One can also share his location by adding an iGoogle widget to his PC/Laptop.
Apart from location tracking,Latitude users can stay in touch with their friends via SMS, Google Talk, Gmail, or by updating their status message.
But there’s one thing that’s out of limelight but holds enough weight in it…What about Privacy concerns ??
If Google calls “Control in your own hands” enough then i reckon,it isn’t.If a user syncs his mobile phone with Latitude then its quite equivalent to carrying a transmitter with you all the time and broadcasting your information to anybody(you want to).
For instance,if a user is sharing his/her exact location information with 25 of his known people,there are 25 possibilities of tracked user’s actual location information,being passed on to anybody else.Today,the amount of personal information that we have been sharing in online space(majorly on social networks) is alarmingly high already and now with Latitude,your online vulnerability will only increase.
There are definitely positive applications of Latitude but one must remember that online identity theft is getting more frequent than ever these days and now with Latitude,broadcasting your location might hurt you badly someday.
Google,in its Latitude announcement post wrote…
You not only control exactly who gets to see your location, but you also decide the location that they see. For instance, let’s say you are in Rome. Instead of having your approximate location detected and shared automatically, you can manually set your location for elsewhere — perhaps a visit to Niagara Falls .
Now,if that’s the case then the prime goal of Latitude weakens out(that is,locating your friends).For instance,a user can easily befool 25 of his friends with 25 fake locations of him.Although ‘Latitude’ might appear fascinating at the moment but it might not become one of the popular services by Google in the long run.
Suggestion : Think twice before broadcasting where you are !
To get a basic idea of ‘Latitude’,take a look at the video below…