location-based services

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Obama Campaign App Tracks Down Democrats

Map shows nearest 'blue' households for canvassers: ProPublica

(Newser) - Click a button on your iPhone and locate the nearest… Democrat? A new app unveiled by the Obama campaign displays a Google map speckled with blue flags representing the closest registered Democratic households to where you're standing, reports ProPublica . Each blue flag is accompanied by a first name, age,...

Facebook Kills 'Places'
 Facebook Kills 'Places' 
Aug 24, 2011 6:45 PM CDT

Facebook Kills 'Places'

But location will soon be front and center in all posts

(Newser) - Facebook published a 1,200-word blog post yesterday detailing its latest privacy changes , but one little tidbit is just getting attention today: Toward the end of the post, the social networking site announced it will be “phasing out” Facebook Places, its Foursquare-like check-in service that debuted to much hype...

Man Gets Stolen Truck Back Thanks to ... His iPhone

Owner left iPhone on the front seat, and used its GPS app to track the car

(Newser) - An iPhone left on the front seat of a stolen truck led to the vehicle's return—and the capture of a burglar suspected of multiple auto break-ins in Colorado Springs. Joshua Mitzelfelt, 29, allegedly stole a truck left unattended and running in a driveway yesterday morning. He was apprehended...

Apple: Relax, We Aren’t Tracking You...

...But there are a few bugs in the iPhone's location software

(Newser) - Apple finally responded to the accusations that it was tracking iPhone users’ locations today, saying it “has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.” In a statement, which you can read on TechCrunch , the company explained that it was actually keeping a log not...

iPhones Grab Location Data When Tracker Function Is Off

Some call for a congressional inquiry

(Newser) - Not only do Apple's iPhones and iPads track your location in unencrypted, easily hackable files, but they continue to do so even if you turn off the location service function, reports the Wall Street Journal . Apple and Google had said that location tracking was done anonymously and could be...

Android Is Tracking You, Too
 Android Is Tracking You, Too 
Apr 22, 2011 6:36 AM CDT

Android Is Tracking You, Too

And sending your location back to Google a few times each hour

(Newser) - Apple isn’t the only one tracking its users’ every move . Google’s Android OS does something very similar, a security analyst has found. The HTC Android phone he tested collected data on its current location every few seconds, transmitting it to Google several times an hour, the analyst tells...

Facebook May Doom Little Guys With Mobile 'Deals'

Groupon, Foursquare, Gowalla in trouble

(Newser) - Facebook rolled out some new mobile features yesterday, most notably “Facebook Deals,” a kind of mashup of Foursquare/Gowalla, and Groupon. Users can check in on Facebook Places and get location-sensitive deals from nearby merchants. The Gap, for example, will give out a free pair of jeans to the...

Get STD Tested, Then Check in on Foursquare!

MTV's campaign may not work...but if it does, bravo

(Newser) - If you’re as obsessed with location-based services as most people seem to be, you probably love checking in at restaurants, coffee shops, bars…and STD clinics? Maybe not, but that’s what MTV is hoping you’ll do as it launches its “Get Yourself Tested” Foursquare campaign . The...

ACLU Bemoans Facebook Places, but Many Are Fans
ACLU Bemoans Facebook Places, but Many Are Fans
REVIEW ROUNDUP
Aug 19, 2010 7:26 AM CDT

ACLU Bemoans Facebook Places, but Many Are Fans

Privacy isn't a concern, say others

(Newser) - Facebook’s highly anticipated “Places” feature is here , and the ACLU is not happy about it. It's taken issue with features that allow your friends to check in for you and allow non-friends to see where you are via “Here Now." It declares (bold theirs) "in ...

Facebook Readies Location Feature - Advertising Age - Digital
 Soon, Facebook Will 
 Know Where You Are 
location-based apps coming
May 7, 2010 12:18 PM CDT

Soon, Facebook Will Know Where You Are

Social networking site readies location-based technology

(Newser) - The latest evidence Facebook is trying to take over the world: The site will soon launch geolocation applications, directly competing with Foursquare and other location-based social networks. What does that mean for you? Soon, telling all your friends you’re at McDonald’s will be even quicker and easier. Mickey...

Google 'Latitude' Knows Where You and Your Friends Are

Mobile app uses GPS, cell towers, networks

(Newser) - Google’s newest mobile app—Latitude—allows users to keep track of where they, and their friends, are at all times, reports CNET. The phone-based application debuts today and opens up a new vista for social networking. The software allows users—tracked via GPS and by proximity to phone towers...

11 Stories