Another Civil Liberty Danger? Google Adding Tracking Via Smartphone To Street View (Picture And Video)

Google has been quietly painting a picture of your daily whereabouts and travel habits with the use of your Android or Apple smartphones.

With the use of tracking map apps such as Google Maps, Facebook and Foursquare, Google knows users must log into their Google account and immediately has a reference point to begin recording the adventures of millions of citizens all across the world.

Google has created Sounds of Street View (SSV) with a UK based hearing-aid corporation that will utilize “Google’s Street View programming interface, people and businesses will be able to place a sound as well as a location marker on the online map.”

Stephen Griffin, developer for SSV explained: “The concept seems to have sparked people’s imaginations, so hopefully we can start getting some great projects entered soon. “Our hope is that we get some great ‘everyday’ soundscapes but also a few really out-there concepts too, such as the internal atmosphere from one of the many Street View stadiums around the world, or perhaps the underwater expeditions!”

One purpose for implementing this “immersive technology” is to lay the foundation for future corporations to have a new “promotional opportunity” and possibly create the next wave in deceptive marketing practices.

Griffin commented: “There’s also potential for businesses, tour operators and such to think about how they communicate their brand/service when they get their own Street View internal tours. Sound adds a whole new atmospheric element to somewhere like, say, a restaurant, where you could have a welcoming message at the door, an ambient atmosphere to get potential clientele to gain a more thorough vibe.”

Facebook uses Nearby Friends (NF) to allow users to track their friend’s movements in real time and in real life.

NF will provide a ping to the user when one of their Facebook friends is in the vicinity.

While friends can opt out of being tracked with NF, as long as Facebook users continue to share their location, this app will have plenty of information in real time to assist in monitoring movements of people through Facebook.

And this includes Facebook friends overseas and across the globe. In fact, if anyone on a friends list is within half a mile from the user, they are being tracked with NF.