Google Latitude: Tracking your whereabouts with your mobile device

I always feel like somebody's watching me

Google introduced new software today called Google Latitude. It lets people with wireless devices automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends with the press of a button. It expands upon a tool introduced in 2007 that allowed mobile phone users to check their location on a Google map. Google is hoping to prove that they can track people on the go as effectively as they can conduct searches on the Internet.

Google Latitude plots a user’s location on a Google map, marked by a personal picture, by using a combination of cell phone tower transmissions, GPS and a Wi-Fi connection to estimate their location. The software is accurate within a few yards using GPS but is off several miles when using cell phone towers to track someone’s position. Google’s tracker covers travel in the United States and 26 other countries.

The user of Google Latitude determines who can monitor their location, but this tracking feature still raises some serious privacy concerns. Google tried to address those concerns with the software. The user manually turns on the tracking software, and it is easy to turn off or limit access to the service. In addition, the user can choose to display only the city instead of the specific neighborhood. Google says that they will only store the last location picked up by the tracking service on their computers. But what could stop law enforcement or even the government from soliciting this tracking information under the guise of the Patriot Act. Cell phone providers did not hesitate to provide confidential information to the government when they were pressed to do so.

As of today, Google Latitude works with Research In Motion’s Symbian software that runs on all BlackBerry devices, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile software and any T-1 Mobile phone running Google Android. If you have an idevice such as the iPhone or the iPod Touch, you are out of luck for now. Google is also offering their tracking software for the PC as well. The PC user can be watched if they are connected to the Internet through Wi-Fi. It is only a matter of time before this software is used to target marketing on your mobile device to your specific location. That could be good for Google, but is it good for you? Only you can decide how much privacy you are willing to give up to stay connected.