Cell Phone Creepiness
I know, it’s an odd title for a post: “Cell Phone Creepiness”. But when you read this article in BusinessWeek, I guarantee that you will be creep-ed out too.
We all know that cell phones can be tracked geographically. There are even applications for that. A reasonable use might be to track where your child is by their cell phone, although your child might not think it’s reasonable. But consider this, the cell phone company knows who you are. Couple that with the positioning, and they can determine where you are. Maybe not so bad yet???
Now consider this. According to the article, a group of researchers have been able to determine your approximate income, your likes and dislikes and even if you just got fired, all from the locations that you frequent. They do this by using aggregate data on millions of users to determine patterns. Depending upon your pattern, or if you break your pattern, they can deduce a lot about you. Now that’s just creepy. Add that to the fact that the cell phone provider knows who you are and your privacy is gone. You might as well walk around naked with sign showing your net worth.
Think I’m exaggerating? Read the article for yourself on BusinessWeek.
