Welcome back to ToBeSecured and happy Friday eve everyone! I’m a day late, but I decided to deliver a post to you all anyway. If you haven’t already, visit my previous post to catch up on the latest news. Please continue to share, like, and comment and I appreciate the support thus far.
On today’s post, I will be discussing tracking devices being placed not only on cell phones, but cars as well. This post was inspired once again from a post I came across on Twitter. I’ll insert the post and you can interpret it and explain your thoughts in the comments below after reading.
What is a tracking device and how are they used? A tracking device is a navigation device normally carried by a vehicle or person which utilizes GPS to detect the movement and/or location of a person or device. The location services feature on our smart phones can also be used as tracking devices whenever we enable them through applications we use. Others can track our exact location and determine where we are headed based on previous destinations, too.
There are also applications available in the app stores, whether Android or Apple, that can determine a persons’ location and track their every move. Some location services companies, Navizon for example, allow utilizing tracking of visitors in malls, museums, offices, and factories. It could be used to examine patterns of foot traffic in retail spaces, assure that a museum is empty of visitors at closing time, or even to pinpoint the location of any individual registered with the system. What about the privacy implications though? Most of us leave our Wi-Fi enabled throughout the day which helps to make location services more accurate. I cannot preach enough how important it is to disable the Wi-Fi and location services feature when in public.
But once again we have people who are nonchalant to the fact “safety” is the important factor of technology. It should be used in positive and harmless ways that protect our privacy and keep us secured. There’s a lot of work to be done but we’ll get there.
This turns the conversation over to the post from Twitter. “Real Question: Would you be willing to put a tracker on your phone to put your significant others mind at “peace” with your moves? 🤔” Here’s the question from the tweet and most of the responses were statements about safety of children, not wanting to be a bounty hunter or stalker, its creepy, and my personal favorite “No need for a tracker....As long as your phone has a GPS Sensor....You can be tracked though free IP sites. 😒” You can definitely be hacked through using websites, whether it was click bait or not. My issue is if there are people who already know the risks, why don’t they take precautions of being safe and possible preventing an event?
Placing a tracking device on your phone and/or cars is absolutely unnecessary and in my opinion, going over the top. There are already applications such as find my friends or panic buttons on our devices to call 911 in case of emergencies. Even find your friends require users to enable their location so it really is no way around it. The excuse and reasoning of safety of kids, parents, and friends are not valid in the sense of tracking, especially if they are not aware of the tracking device. Not only is it against the fourth amendment of the constitution, but people start to raise questions over privacy concerns and if there are certain boundaries and laws to follow. No one should want to be tracked down, followed, give full access of their privacy to someone, or live without knowing who has access or can access their personal information using technology.
Continue to educate yourself and one another on how we can be more secured and protect our privacy. Do not allow anyone to track your location for any reason and research how companies are utilizing the data or information from your phones and when you enter their buildings. If you disagree or agree with the post, explain your reasoning below and also tell about other ways your device can use GPS tracking of other devices.
If you would like to discuss further, please leave a comment or ask a question. I'd love to chat with my readers and hear your thoughts. Thank you for dropping in and remember ToBeSecured!
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