Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Google's Spooky New Location History View
Search engine giant Google said Wednesday that it has rolled out a new feature which allows users to view their "whole life's travels" based on users' cell phone, Wi-Fi usage and GPS data, and analyzes patterns from that data. Google said that the new Google Location History taps information from Google Latitude, the firm's service which lets users see their friends on a map. The company explained that its new dashboard view of location history will highlight information for users, such as trips they've take, places they've visited, time they've spent at work versus at home, and more. Google said that the Google Location History is an opt-in service, and requires that users enable Google Latitude to run in the background on their cell phone. The firm also stressed that the data is only available privately to a user. Interestingly enough, the release of the feature comes just a few days after a scandal--and a slew of lawsuits--involving Google's collection of private Wi-Fi data, which it disclosed as part of its Street View program.