Geotagging warning - can you be stalked?

[Amrov]

I saw a news feature a couple of days ago that startled me. I know my Droid can geotag photos (at least, with the camera app I'm using). But I never thought about what others could do with that information. Well, turns out it's not hard at all for them to use that information to find out where you live, if you post photos you took at your house. Or perhaps where you work? Where you work out? etc.

Think about this when you post photos anywhere online.

To read more about this, go to this site -- there is an article being published on this:

Publications | Cybercasing the Joint: On the Privacy Implications of Geotagging

Or just Google it.

I turned off the geotagging feature on my Droid. Problem is, I don't know how to strip this info out of the existing photos. If anyone knows how to do that, please post.

Parents, think about your kids too...

 

[Psychokitty]

Good info. I think we're all taking just how much information about ourselves we make available to the general public for granted these days. While it's probably extremely rare to be targeted for some sort of stalking, the fact remains that it is easier than ever to do so from a distance.
Particularly, as the OP stated, kids can be pretty bad to other kids, and they are most likely to do things like geotag photos and give away personal info about themselves. Other kids can easily find out how to exploit this info for malicious purposes.

 

[barry99705]

I turned off the geotagging feature on my Droid. Problem is, I don't know how to strip this info out of the existing photos. If anyone knows how to do that, please post.

Parents, think about your kids too...

I geotag some stuff, and not others. Depends on the subject. If you use Picasa, it has the capability to remove the geotags. Otherwise search for some exif editing software. Pretty sure photochop can do this as well.

It's not just the camera, most social network applications will post your position as well.

 

[Eugene]

I goetag everything, then use a tool called exiftool and strip the location off of ones I want to upload.

 

[UncleMike]

I think I saw the same (or similar story) a couple of weeks ago. My first thought with regard to social networking sites (I don't use any of them, so I may be "off" here) was that they probably resize images that are uploaded, meaning that they are doing some sort of processing of the image. Maybe they could/should offer users the option of removing any geotagging information from uploaded photos.

As with any other dangers, awareness is a critical component of avoidance and prevention.

 

[Highland Ranger]

If someone knows your name they can find out where you live in 2 seconds on the internet.

Where you work wouldn't be hard either once they know where you live . . . .

Not saying you shouldn't shut off the geotagging, but it doesn't make you "safe" . . . .

 

[Highland Ranger]

double tap

 

[takeshi]

I turned off the geotagging feature on my Droid. Problem is, I don't know how to strip this info out of the existing photos. If anyone knows how to do that, please post.

Any EXIF editor will do.

I geotag some stuff, and not others. Depends on the subject.

Same here.

 

[Amrov]

If someone knows your name they can find out where you live in 2 seconds on the internet.

Where you work wouldn't be hard either once they know where you live . . . .

Not saying you shouldn't shut off the geotagging, but it doesn't make you "safe" . . . .

Totally agree. My point was that some people may think they are safe by not revealing their actual name (such as in an online forum like this one), but then they post a photo and some lunatic decides to see if he/she can find them. It never occurred to me, so I posted for others like me.

And I have been "stalked" briefly before after I appeared on TV, so I know the fear of a complete stranger tracking me down. I slept with a shotgun under my bed for a while...

 

[Psychokitty]

Totally agree. My point was that some people may think they are safe by not revealing their actual name (such as in an online forum like this one), but then they post a photo and some lunatic decides to see if he/she can find them. It never occurred to me, so I posted for others like me.

And I have been "stalked" briefly before after I appeared on TV, so I know the fear of a complete stranger tracking me down. I slept with a shotgun under my bed for a while...

"HOLY KRAP! YOU'RE that guy from that movie!!! Nooooo WAY! Dude! I know everything about you, man! -I'm your biggest fan EVAR!!!"


...Yikes!

 

[CyberPitz]

TBH I've never been worried about what people see of me on the internet *as 99% of it is clean...*. If someone wanted to know every lick of information about me, they can and will find it. Granted, I'm not going to just hand it to them on a silver platter....

 

[dmodert66]

It's super easy to find out stuff about someone on the net. I used the company below to research who someone was. My brother and his wife where having problems. I rarely check my cell bill, but I noticed the bill was a whopping $200 higher than normal. His wife had sent over a thousand texts and was only on a basic text plan. Upon reviewing the bills and the number she sent the texts to, I used that company to find out who he was. You can get varying degrees of information from them, I just wanted a name/address, but you can get more. It's pretty scary how much info you can get online (sometimes without paying).

The more information we put online, the easier it is for people to find out information about you. Be careful what you post guys/gals...

One last example. If you have a home phone number still, type it in, area code first into google. Unless you are unlisted, google will spit back the name associated with the phone number, as well as the address. Freaky...

 

[Yonalt]

I turned off the geotagging feature on my Droid. Problem is, I don't know how to strip this info out of the existing photos. If anyone knows how to do that, please post.

You can use this free tool to remove metadata from jpg files.

 

[Yonalt]

I think I saw the same (or similar story) a couple of weeks ago. My first thought with regard to social networking sites (I don't use any of them, so I may be "off" here) was that they probably resize images that are uploaded, meaning that they are doing some sort of processing of the image. Maybe they could/should offer users the option of removing any geotagging information from uploaded photos.

Facebook indeed automatically removes all metadata from uploaded photos.

 

[deaconous]

just start using Pixelgarde Photo Privacy Editor for your Droid. It's free, so why give up geotags if you don't have to?

 

[icecold]

My stalkers aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, so I figure I better give them a fighting chance.