Email

Almost every smart phone on the market, these days, comes equipped with a GPS tracking device. GPS tracking is incredibly useful for map applications, finding a lost or stolen phone, and it has even been used to locate people lost in the wilderness, potentially saving lives. This same life-saving technology also has dangerous potential when not used carefully.

Smart phones, such as the iPhone, store the GPS location, meaning the exact longitude, latitude, time and date, of any picture, and saves the information in the picture’s data. Detective Jeremiah Boies, of the Grand Junction Police Department explains, “Anybody that has spent some time with computers and has some knowledge of smart phones will know that this information exists.”

Like many mothers, Julie Alexander loves to share pictures of her five children with friends and family. She regularly posts pictures of her family on her personal blog. “Usually we use our personal cameral to take pictures, but if we’re in a pinch, we will use our digital iPhone cameras,” she explained. When the reporters at 11 News warned her about the potential dangers of giving strangers access to the location of her children, the news was unsettling to say the least. “That’s disturbing,” she said. “I didn’t know that.”

Fortunately, the Grand Junction Police Department hasn’t had any cases come up where the GPS tracking information was obtained from a picture online. The problem remains theoretical for now, but Julie Alexander, for one, is going to be more cautious in the future. “In the wrong hands, it could go really bad, really quickly,” she said. “And who wants to be the first one to have that experience? Certainly not me.”

Most popular sites, such as Facebook and Flickr, automatically remove the GPS data before the images are posted on their sites. Personal blogs, however, have yet to address the problem. Check your user manual to learn how to disable the GPS function for photos.

Article Written by Marisa O’Connor