Do You Know Where Your Friends Are?

The benefits and dangers of location based social networking
October 2010
by Robin Wark

It is getting easier to find out thanks to new social networking features and services such as Facebook Places, foursquare, Gowalla and Brightkite. Via all of these, users can "check-in" at locations by texting or using a mobile application on their smartphone.

These services allow users to see where their friends are and also to find out if people they know are at the same location as them. They are also used to play games - if you check in at a certain location a lot, you become the "mayor" of it, or are awarded a prize such as a free coffee or pizza. Foursquare investor Naval Ravikant has stated location based services (LBS) are an extension of MySpace making personal profiles public and Twitter exposing your thoughts to everyone.

The Dangers

The problem is that if you know where your "friends" are, they also know where you are - and where you are not. ParetoLogic security analyst Jean Taggart warned that users need to be aware of the information they are sharing. Sites like Pleaserobme.com and icanstalku.com have shown how easy it would be for thieves and stalkers to use social networking posts to their advantage.

Now on a hiatus from regular updates, Pleaserobme.com used Twitter tweets featuring geo-tags to show that people were away from their homes. The mainstream media has given a lot of attention lately to a Nashua, New Hampshire burglary ring that struck a reported 50 homes and made off with $100,000 worth of goods. The criminals planned their thefts by using Facebook to identify when people were away from their homes. Nashua police have said it appears that Facebook Places was not used by the burglars; however it could expose users to that possibility.

Icanstalku.com uses metadata from photos posted to Twitter with services such as Twitpics to show maps of where people currently are. While it might be shocking to see on the icanstalku.com website, this is the same information people are freely sharing on services such as Gowalla and foursquare.

In a "TEENeditorial" in the Sep. 21, 2010 online edition of the Jamaica Observer, young writers expressed their concern about foursquare. They stated that the application's Google map, with directions, that is posted with your location is "a one-way ticket for the online predator for your whereabouts. "The problem with excessive status updating/tweeting is that it creates a timeline and when accompanied with Twitpics and blow by blow events someone could have the time to find you and possibly hurt you."

What To Do

In a report about these emerging LBS social networks, Cincinnati television station Local 12 News told the story of Chris Beiting. He checked-in at a restaurant on foursquare and then sent it to Twitter. Someone then called the restaurant to say that Beiting's car had been stolen. As the car had not been removed, it apparently was an attempt at a joke.

Although just a prank, it did open the man's eyes to the possible dangers of LBS and linking to sites like Twitter. After the incident he eliminated his friends' list. Now he restricts his list to people he knows well and trusts.

It is a very good idea, especially with LBS, to keep your circle small and trustworthy. A technique that can be employed in combination with this is to use Twitters' "Protect My Updates" so that only your friends can read your feed. Or, do not allow any of your LBS check-ins to go to Twitter.

It is also crucial to read and understand the privacy policy. As well, you should know where the privacy settings are and consider adjusting them in certain situations. In some applications, you can opt out of location specific tagging. This is when a person is at a place, has checked-in and tags a friend as being there. On Facebook Places, for example, if someone tags you, your name would be posted on their status. You might not want this.

Of course, you can also use these services infrequently. They might come in handy if you are looking to connect with someone at a large event, but in general it is safer if everyone doesn't know where you are all of the time.

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.