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Recently, I've been receiving requests from friends asking me to add them to my Google Latitude. They want to share their locations with me, and in return, my location with them. As these requests come in one by one, I just move them off to the trash. Sorry, folks, but I don't intend to share my location on Google Latitude or any similar service.
Okay, first some background.
What is Google Latitude? It is a service by Google that lets you indicate where in the world you are. It works in conjunction with Google Maps, so that your location appears as a familiar "thumb tack" in the map.
How do you use Google Latitude? It's an application that's usually used in your handphone, though you can do the same with a laptop. Once installed in your phone, it makes use of your handphone's GPS (or aGPS) service or your mobile phone provider's antennas to determine your coordinates (latitude and longitude). You don't need to enter any info yourself. Once Google Latitude figures out where you are, it will indicate your location in its map.
Which phones can I use Google Latitude with? Google Latitude supposedly works with any Java-compatible phone, which is almost any phone out there, except the really low end ones. (Unfortunately, I could never get it to work on my phone. For the better too, it would seem.) It's pre-installed in Google Android-based phones, like the HTC Dream and Magic. With the iPhone, it's available as a web app, i.e. accessible via the Safari browser.
What can I do with Google Latitude? Ah, now this is where the "fun" comes in.
Once you've activated Google Latitude, it knows your location and will update itself routinely, like every few seconds (depending on your settings). But knowing your own location is pretty useless. So Google Latitude allows you to share your location with your friends, and vice versa.
When you add your friends, they will receive an invitation email from Google to join Google Latitude (if they haven't already). Once all of you have Google Latitude and are sharing your locations, you'll be able to see if any of your friends are in your vicinity.
Which probably makes sense if you're supposed to meet someone at an unfamiliar place and can't find him/her. Or if you want to see if your friend is waiting at the wrong MRT exit. Or if your friend is still at home when you're supposed to be out together.
Yup, you can start stalking your friends in real time. That's probably convenient, from a certain point of view. And fun too, like following friends on Twitter.
Or just downright creepy. As an Internet service, there is always the danger of someone hacking into the system to get your Google Latitude information. (Cracking Google is difficult, not impossible.)
Even if Google is 100% secure, there's still the chance of human error. Google Latitude is linked to your Google account. If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google account. (You can get a Google account in other ways too.) I've heard too many stories of people who lost access to their Gmail accounts because they forgot a password or someone got it, hacked in and changed the password. Now, not only would your email be lost, but the location of your friends too.
And then you might even lose your phone. Hey, it happens. Just ask anyone whose camwhoring pics got leaked online.
It's not that I'm paranoid. It's just that Google Latitude is about peeling away another layer of privacy. It's bad enough that people can steal your identity (like names, IC numbers, etc) online. Do you really want to take the next step of giving away your physical location as well? And that of your friends too?
I only realised how dangerous this could get while playing around with Google Latitude on a HTC phone. I had set it once when I was in a part of Singapore that I would not normally be in. I also set it a few times when at work. The latter is more or less public knowledge, so I wasn't too worried about being stalked. (In fact, that's now pretty much my only location you will find on my Google Latitude.)
However,I didn't set it when at home or on the road or at any of my other usual spots. I'm just not ready to give up that much of my private information. If I put up a picture later that shows me somewhere, well, that happened in the past so anything that could go wrong probably already did.
So I doubt I'll make use of Google Latitude any more. And yes, I'm going to continue rejecting invitations. To the one friend whom I asked to share their location, I realise now that that probably wasn't a wise thing to do. If I want to know where you are, I'll ask over an SMS. But chances are, I really don't need to know your every move. I respect your right to privacy as much as (I hope) you respect mine.
I'm not a stalker, after all.
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