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posted by martyb on Monday February 11 2019, @09:53PM   Printer-friendly

Phys.org:

Sixty-seven percent of smartphone users rely on Google Maps to help them get to where they are going quickly and efficiently.
A major of[sic] feature of Google Maps is its ability to predict how long different navigation routes will take. That's possible because the mobile phone of each person using Google Maps sends data about its location and speed back to Google's servers, where it is analyzed to generate new data about traffic conditions.

Information like this is useful for navigation. But the exact same data that is used to predict traffic patterns can also be used to predict other kinds of information – information people might not be comfortable with revealing.

For example, data about a mobile phone's past location and movement patterns can be used to predict where a person lives, who their employer is, where they attend religious services and the age range of their children based on where they drop them off for school.

Perhaps we can carefully craft our data patterns to tell advertisers, "Take a hike!"


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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday February 11 2019, @10:10PM (4 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Monday February 11 2019, @10:10PM (#799775)

    Most people are creatures of habit.
    And the companies did read that message you got to pick up some milk on the way home. Since you buy ice cream every other week, they know you'll be headed back right after, without stopping at the bar.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @11:48PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 11 2019, @11:48PM (#799839)

    Damn, shouldn't have stopped by the strip club on the way home.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday February 12 2019, @01:40AM

      by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday February 12 2019, @01:40AM (#799866)

      Funny: I originally typed "strip club", and decided to change it to "bar".

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @02:50AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @02:50AM (#799897)

      Who else is going to pick up your daughter after "work"

      • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @07:36AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 12 2019, @07:36AM (#799983)

        Nah, was picking up my wife and my girlfriend.