Protect your yourself and your loved
ones
The benefits of location-aware apps can be
numerous, particularly when it comes to tracking the whereabouts of your
nearest and dearest. Knowing that your kids are just playing in the park or
that your partner hasn’t been caught in a massive tailback on the motorway
gives peace of mind. It means you aren’t constantly nagging to find out where
they are, too, although the social ramifications of a nag-free society are yet
to be examined. Meeting up with friends is also easier with location-aware
apps.
There is a potential downside to all this
data being available, though, particularly when you’re essentially announcing
to the world where you are, and more importantly where you’re not. You wouldn’t
take an advert out in the local paper to announce when you’re on holiday; that
would obviously be asking for trouble. Plenty of people happily post to
Facebook or Twitter when they’re in another country, though, and with the
strange fad of gaining as many followers on both sites as possible, it’s hardly
as though you’re just letting your closet friends know. Throw in the ability to
state when you’re not at home on a far more mundane basis, and you can see why
your location isn’t something that you should be throwing out there for all and
sundry to make use of.
Privacy first
1. Paranoid Android
When you first set up your phone or tablet,
you were asked whether you wanted to enable location services. Depending on
your fears over privacy at the time, you may have stated that you didn’t want
apps to know where you are. This means that the apps that we’re talking here
about won’t function properly as they can’t locate you.
2. Pick and choose
If you try to install an application that
uses location services, you get a warning that certain functionality isn’t
available. It’s quite simple to turn on location support on Android devices,
though. Just be aware that you need to watch which apps you install once it’s
on – turn on location services to use one app, and other apps may use it as
well.
3. Total awareness
Go to your device’s system settings and
scroll to “Location Services” (or “Location and Security”). You’re given a list
of settings that define the source of location services as well as how they can
be used. The top option, “Use wireless networks,” is vital for working indoors,
while “GPS satellites” is essential when out and about. Turn both on.
The future for social media
1. Go
There’s a real interest from many corners
of the internet to combine location-aware devices with blogging to produce the
next wave of social media. Want to talk about that pizza you’ve just eaten?
Take a video of yourself doing so? Then GO is the app for you. It’s beautifully
realized, balancing style with decent functionality.
2. Found
A lot like Latitude, Found has more of a
focus on meeting up with friends and sharing cool places to hang out. It boasts
Twitter and Facebook support, and the interface is a no-nonsense affair that
enables you to flit between views neatly. It does rely on your friends using
the same app, though…
3. Spotvite
Spotvite enables you to create events at
specific locations and then invite people along. People you don’t necessarily
know, but are potentially interested in the same things. It’s a great app if
you’re new to a city, or are actively trying to meet new people. The interface
is well designed and it’s a neat enough idea that it deserves to do well.
4. Localmind
Based on a neat idea, Local mind enables
you to question people at a specific location about what’s happening there at
the moment. So, if you’re wondering if it’s worth going to a club and want to
check how long the queues are, ask someone in the queue. It’s reliant on the
size of its user base, but it’s definitely a clever concept.
