Smartphone Picture Uploads Can Reveal Location of Your Children's Home, School, and Play Areas

http://www.superutils.com/products/exifcleaner/

The storage of location based data, in the form of Latitude and Longitude inside of images is called Geotagging; essentially tagging your photograph with the geographic location. This data is stored inside if the metadata if JPEG images and is useful for tying the photograph to a location. Want to remember exactly where you took those photographs while on vacation? This information is for you.

However, most modern digital cameras do not automatically add geolocation (Latitude and Longitude) metadata to pictures. The process for adding the geolocation data either requires specialized add on hardware, or post processing with software on the desktop after the pictures are taken.

There is a large exception to this rule: Smartphones. With the proliferation of smart phones that contain GPS locator technology inside, the cameras in these devices are already equipped with the specialized hardware to automatically add geolocation information to the pictures at the time they are taken.

Most people don't realize that the action of automatic geotagging takes place on their smart phones, either because it is enabled by default, not exposed the user as an option, or was asked and then forgotten. As a result, individuals often share too much information about their location, right down to the exact Latitude and Longitude when snapping photos with their smartpphone and posting them online.

To delete geotags from JPEG photos, just apply the batch Windows utility 'ExifCleaner' before posting pictures online.

Original article: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/money/consumer/alerts/smartphone-picture-uploads-can...

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• geotagging
• twitter privacy
• facebook privacy
• photobucket
• iphone gps
• blackberry gps
• android gps
• remove gps data
• erase gps metadata
• online privacy
• erase exif
• exifcleaner
• geo-tagging
• photographic metadata
• exif data
• disable gps tracking
• disable geotagging
• abc15
• security alerts
• cyber privacy

[handfull247]

this video is irresponsible and dangerous. This news team gave step by step instructions to predators on the easiest way to track a child. This very is extremely dangerous, can you please remove this content

[superutils]

@handfull247 It's not dangerous, but educative. Just disable geotagging, or remove geotags after taking photos.

[PrisonFaces]

And you guys are believing this is a real news clip? NO! It was created by the company that sells a product that allegedly prevents it. It was created to scare you guys into buying it. And I wonder how many of you were duped into that too?

[Cambells916]

THIS IS A BUNCHA BULLSH**T I CANT FIND A DANG THING ABOUT A LOCATION! NEWS HYPES WHATEVER THEY CAN

[yseeker23]

@superutils , I can assure you, that more predators than parents watch this particular clip.

[3ThatGirlSteph2]

@handfull247 The news does this all the time....and just TV in general. They always tell us how to do things and how to get away with crimes and all kinds of other stuff. It's kind of backwards I know, but it's better to tell everyone about it instead of letting only a select few people (criminals) know about it.

[MaxRoujeon]

I think it should be known and spread at large. The bad guys know it already, this video helps people like me be more careful. Taking a picture of your house precious belongings (fur coats, jewels etc...and next thing you know, while you are at work they have emptied the house. Thank you, whoever is irresponsible is the tech companies who came up with the feature and sell it with the phone without telling us. That's what I think. Nothing personal against handful's opinion

[ZapPictures]

What it is is Cheezy lazy crap journalism. "Have you ever seen it go THIS FAR BEFORE?????" We live in the information age folks, if you want not to participate, there are options. At least to their credit they show the luddite morons how to disable the gps tagging.