A very clear picture of where do we go, who we are, with whom we spend our time is given by location monitoring. One can see, how you monitor your position through phone, WIFI connection, the website you visit, & the networks and email provider you use for social networking.
The agents are in our bags
Your gadgets are constantly asking you where your computers, cell phones, & tablets. Your cell phone is very powerful tracking device: it goes everywhere you go, & this will track the location of your phone even though it is not connected for internet.
Location details
A remarkably complete story on how your life look like and who are you can be told through location data gathered over time. Add emails, tweets, pictures, and your phone record that are publicly accessible, & the story will get very informative.
Not only gives the information on where do you live & work, but even your visit to the churches, hospitals , restaurants, friends and lovers, location details will reveal; it can indicate the marches you have engaged in, which political organizations or community groups you are part of.
How this works is shown via map-based visualization created recently through Open Data City & others
Mapping the Social Graph
Through location data its is easy to map the relationship. If, at specific time of the day, you & another person either individuals in same position, it is possible to decide what relationship you are having with these individuals-if, for instance, friends, family members, lovers, roommates etc..
Who, and why, needs this information?
To all kind of people & organizations, this type of comprehensive image can be useful. For one, to make profits, this can be marketed by businesses; it can even be used for forecasting where in the future you will be at certain point; government can use this.
Towers for cell phones
Your phone needs to continuously communicate with cell phone tower to send & receive calls & messages. Your cell phone company tracks and records this operation, helping them identify where are you & where you have been.
Tracking GPS
A GPS system is your mobile. Smartphones come fitted with GPS chip & can connect with the GPS satellites if the ‘tracking services’ of your network are in it, enabling you & others to locate your place to a surprisingly precise degree. This comes handy when you have lost your phone and you can use La géolocalisation sur mobile to track the mobile location.