Privacy Risks of Smart Phones August 14, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Art & Photography, People.trackback
If you take photos to post on line . . . watch this.
Then change your settings.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Spirit Lights The Way
~ Be Here Now
trackback
Spirit Lights The Way 
Now that’s scary!
Technology has advanced at warp speed. Sadly, some people are warped. Here’s to protecting ourselves from unwanted and unwarranted invasions of privacy.
I had been hearing about this. I have my location services turned off except for The Weather Channel.
But what is scary is that possibly other people, friends and family, don’t turn off the location services on the camera part of their phone and then post a picture of us without our permission!
The faster we educate friends and family about the risks, the safer we all will be from tech proficient predators.
We can change our settings, our posting habits, or both.
Nancy once it goes through facebook, wordpress, photobucket uploaders…. doesn’t the pic lose it info? I know you can right click for properties but I have never seen any location info.
I just read a comment in the stream for this youtube video that said Facebook removes GPS maps from photos before posting, but I don’t know about other sites.
Yes, I noticed that Facebook transfers photos with hyper text photo protocol with privacy. But ya never know!
Took care of that with my phone upon purchase of it.
Smart of you. I don’t think it would have occurred to me that shots we share often include a GPS location. 😯
This is very frightening but also enlightening in terms of the settings. Thanks Nancy.
Technology changes so fast, it’s hard to keep up with its many benefits . . . and its many downsides. I’m glad there is an easy fix available.
This clip was posted on youtube in November 2010. So, it’s official . . . I am OUT OF THE LOOP.
This seems to be going viral. Sadly, I can’t work out how to change these settings on my Blackberry.
If you go to a store that sells Blackberries, one of the clerks should be able to help you with setting changes.
Ah, but that would require a round trip of about 60 miles… Still, next time I’m there!
Sounds like where we used to live . . . it was 20 miles to the nearest traffic light and 30 miles to the grocery store.
Maybe you can nose around on-line to figure how to configure your Blackberry.
Or just go to the mall, find a teen with a smart phone, and ask them to show you.
I’m not sure Blackberry Curves are very cool in this part of the world! But I take your point!
If the teens there are like my nieces and nephews, they can intuitively find the hidden control panel even if they have never held a Blackberry before. It’s in their genes. 😆
Definitely scary. I don’t have a smart phone, and this is the first time I have been glad not to have it. Thanks for the alert, Nancy.
I’m often amazed by folks on Facebook who post their every location on line.
I’m far more anonymous and invisible . . . and prefer it that way.
That’s scary! I’m going to send it to my daughter who posts a lot of photos of her kids online.
Good! She may already be aware of the potential for GPS mapping, but it’s a good idea to check and make sure.
It amazes me that the social sites don’t strip pictures of this info before it is loaded into the site. The coding would be simple and actually save them storage space on their servers. A good reminder, thanks Nancy.
Sounds like some of them do strip the GPS map before posting, but I’m not sure that they all do.
My head is now hurting……
Techno-phobia? Or something else? 😛
Just keeping up with all this stuff….
I hear you . . . it’s no wonder that we exist in a state of low grade angst and anxiety. No matter which way we turn, there is something “new” to worry about.
I am so glad I don’t have a smart phone…mine is quite dumb!
Same here, Kathy. My flip phone is deaf, dumb, and kept on MUTE most of the time.
It sits quietly in my purse and very rarely sees the light of day.
Call me Cave Man, Scrooge, Henny Penny, whatever you like. I’ve been warning about technology based concerns for years. I gave up doing so publically because like “Too big to fail” financial institutions and their actions, few listen and even fewer take action. We’ve made our bed and now we don’t like sleeping in it? Come on folks, be a little more aware. Pause and reflect on what technology is creating – on the dark side as well as its conveniences. Anything wrong with using a digital camera? George Eastman must be rolling over in his grave. Thanks for sharing and creating awareness, Nancy.
Thanks, Henny Penny! Just because we claim “the sky is falling” doesn’t mean we’re paranoid. Sometimes THEY really are out to get us. And, sometimes, the wolf IS at the door . . . cleverly disguised in sheep’s clothing.
Here’s to remaining AWAKE and AWARE to the world as it is.
If you like the Facebook app, it always displays your location when you post something on your page. But if your posts are private, nobody can see that but your friends. I’m always amazed at how many people post private updates as public for all to see. Very weird.
I know, right? I don’t get the desire and drive to share some of the things that people put out there. It’s like running their private lives up the flagpole for the rest of the world to see. Odd.
I saw this yesterday Nancy and shared it on FB. It’s REALLY scary stuff! I changed the settings on my phone immediately…
Apparently, this clip has been on youtube since 2010 . . . so it’s not “new news” ~ I still wanted to share it since so many people use their smart phones to capture and share each slice of life.
Thanks Nancy this information is so important.
It’s disturbing to think how technology erodes our privacy and makes our lives far more transparent than they’ve ever been before.
Cell phone -> cellophane.
I wonder if there is a similair problem with Pinterest? Time to check on that one.
I don’t know anything about how Pinterest works. I’ve only visited once. Hope you find out that they remove GPS maps before photos get shared.
It’s so frustrating to me to figure out when to disable this function and when to keep it on. For instance, I use navigation systems on my phone that rely on tracking me! There is so much to consider these days, it’s a wonder our heads don’t explode! 🙂
It does look like you can keep it for navigation systems and just turn the feature off on your camera settings. But I know what you mean . . . life comes at us at super sonic speeds. It’s hard to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape.
There is no getting away from these guys unless we go back to pigeon post or using a slate to scratch a message on.
There are times that I would like to go back to the days of snail mail and photos shared in cherished albums . . . instead of digital images soaring through cyber space with who knows what information embedded within them.
Thanks for posting this, Nancy. I have my location settings turned off, to save batty life ~ but I think my son and daughter geotag the photos they take of my grandchildren. Scary information, I shall pass it on!
Good idea, Jacqueline. They may be “in the know” but if they aren’t, changing their camera settings will increase their privacy.
I checked my phone after watching the video – I had geo-tagging off. On my phone, there is a separate setting for the camera…I can still use GPS navigation and maps. It’s definitely scary the things we have to watch out for these days.
Sounds like you’re all set . . . just turning it off for the camera should do the trick. There is so much technology to all this new technology. It boggles the mind.
It’s troubling when those who are responsible for creating these phones and programs put these geo tagging thingies and most times it’s switched on by default…I mean I understand the usefulness of geo tagging…but then again does it have to be for ALL applications?
It’s probably spelled out in the succinct 373-page instruction book that comes with every Smart Phone. 😛
[…] Related posts:  Privacy is Dead * Privacy Risks of Smart Phones […]