It is 16°C in Chebarus, Kenya. Or 8°C in Koln, Germany. Or maybe even 25°Farhenheit in Damascus, Syria. Then maybe it is not.

Geolocation, is the capability of our Mobile devices to find our physical locus and give us the detailed information regarding the area. This information includes weather updates, traffic information or even how close our Social Media friends are from our current location. Some applications go a step further and give us bearings on a map so that we can trace their location.

Geolocation’s application comes in two major ways:

• The retrieval of location information direct from the phone’s location setting
• The access of location from permissions rendered to applications

We as human beings are mobile by nature. It is engrained in our DNA that we have to move. Even when we are unable to, we still find ways to manouvre through the immobility. That can be explained by biology where we say that animals and plants in search of conducive environments, food, shelter among other factors. This is the same with mobile devices. These do not need to travel because of DNA or such. They however bridge communications throughout the world making it a global village. Mobile devices help us shop, study and do almost all our activities simply through their platforms,hence we never have to physically move to do such.

The retrieval of location information direct from the phone’s location setting

As we use our mobile phones, we are often advised to leave the Location setting on. A common reason given is that if our phone is stolen, the likelihood of tracking it becomes easy. Applications such as the Find My Device can be used to find where your phone was last active and at what exact time. It is however not completely accurate to assume that the device will be found because if someone does flash your phone, the device is gone for good.

The dangers that lie with the provision of such information is subject to debate. Weather notification apps might defend themselves by stating their usefulness in knowing what weather the user should expect. Online maps can also help people navigate when they visit new places. There are numerous pros to the use of our location information by our mobile devices. However, people can also argue that Big Brother is always watching and no one knows when he’s looking to strike. As a matter of fact, here in Kenya, certain civilians have claimed to have felt as if they were being followed. In one recent scenario, a man called up his family on arriving at one of the cities and told his family he suspected the police were following him. Days later, his body turned up in one of the rivers. Conspiracy theories aside, numerous people are afraid of the limits to which the government is willing to misuse these capabilities. Surveillance of citizens by state machinery is the misuse of trust and authority given to the government by said governments.

The access of location permissions rendered to applications

Geolocation in mobile apps is one of the best technologies today that estimates the real geographical location of your device that is connected to the internet. This technology opened gateway to innovative ideas that you couldn’t think of. The implementation of geolocation in apps enabled businesses to come up with the best marketing strategies.

Many social media applications tend to ask for permissions from the user in order to function properly as well as being productive by suggesting things the user will relate to. For instance, my social media might want to know my location so that it brings me friends suggestions of people close to my physical location.

This is a flaw on the side of the AI which assumes that shared characteristics tend to draw human beings together. By that reasoning, it assumes that people on social platforms are likely to interact due to their physical proximity and/or shared experiences from their resident regions.

Geolocation also aids the operation of travel and food delivery apps. This is two way- both the delivery person as well as the user need location information. For example, the delivery person could use the application to direct him/her to the location of the person requiring delivery of food, while the user could identify the closest delivery place to them to cut on delivery cost.

Social media apps moreover accesses the location so that the user can check-in at the places with their family or friends. People tend to post their location when they want their social media friends to know they were somewhere. A current trend has seen this being used as a form of clout whereby people post pictures in expensive hotels, airports or the beach so that people are drawn to believe they are rich, or at least that they live “the life.”

Applications also require to determine the users’ locations so as to perform what is referred as geolocation marketing. Companies that are yet to undergo globalization will often need to advertise or sell to the local market. Mobile applications help the company easily reach their market through accessing social circles online. There is however a question as to how much information these social media apps actually trade. These applications appear to invade our privacy when we get messages that tell us of information like our favourite miniskirt on sale near the closest shopping store, or that lingerie you wanted to get your wife being 60% if you can avail yourself at the mall 0.5 Km from your position. Such information is sensitive, considering people do not surrender their privacy rights with the intention of being sold (which is exactly what occurs here.)

Commodification of data (the collection of personal information of multiple users and selling to other companies) continues to be a threat to our privacy. People do not surrender their privacy with the intention of being hawked to the highest bidder. I’m sad to say but this is infact modern day slavery. The companies that do this go on to invade our private lives to attempt to make sales to us. They involve the use of manipulation and excessive bombardments of marketing messages, causing disruptions to the users. For instance, telemarketers might use the data availed to them to attempt to make sales. To get more details on the troubles brought forth by commodification, click here.

Moreover, we live in an age where people share more personal information online since everyone is a publisher. Social media enables everyone to share whatever they want. As such many go online to share information like where they are working, who they are related to or how much money they used to purchase something. This information could however fall in the wrong hands and be used against them. Scammers, stalkers and cybercriminals have their noses up to pick potential victims so us sharing personal information online makes us easy prey. Take these scenarios for instance:

• A scammer who finds information such as email account and mobile phone of potential victim on social media – I was personally a victim. Someone claiming to have valuable equipment enroute from Europe needing it shared to people who really need it came to my email. I foolishly bought the story because it was well thought off plus the use of a granny to scam did not seem likely to me at the moment. The goods were delivered to West Africa supposedly and so I had to pay for delivery to my country Kenya.
• A stalker who accesses the physical location/workplace address of the victim where he/she could follow and/or send suggestive gifts to you.
• Cyberbullies who get your contact information thus constantly email-bomb you or fill your comments section with abuses.
• A con artist who acquires your contact information and address (online) such as where you live and your closest relative then calls you falsely claiming said relative is hospitalized or in need of money urgently.

Solutions

Geolocation has many benefits but the dangers put the users at risk. First of all, it is advisable to turn off location settings in social media applications. This is because surveillance is a critical issue as well as user data manipulation. The rule of thumbs is to only allow location permissions to applications that function to our benefit. If it must function with location, then let it. A good example is applications such as LinkedIn which allows us find jobs near us. Applications such as delivery apps and travel apps also work to our benefit so those too are exempt from this. Social media applications should not be allowed location permission. Incase you are wondering how to shut off these setting, long press your application. A pop-up menu will appear. Click the App Permissions. You will see the option of location. Press turn off or unhighlight the option.

Another issue is the most overlooked route when it comes to unrestricted access. It is commonly stated that use of public wireless internet connection is one of the main routes through which hackers access our mobile phones. However an even simpler route is the use of stalkware and malware that is disguised as antivirus. Some crooks send you emails detailing how your phone has multiple viruses that can only be removed by the given antivirus. Whenever you feel alarmed, download your own antivirus from the application store of your choice. Other malwares manipulate users by telling them that their phone was hacked and they can change their passwords if that was not them – usually by availing a link to the area. These can very tricky since they disguise themselves as legitimate sites. For example, one can get an email from http://www.facebok.com saying someone tried to access your account. Try to do your due dilligence by researching whether the link is the official site of the said app (in this case, Facebook.) More likely than not, these are intelligent scams devised by hackers to access our mobile phones and accounts. This in turn can be used to track us down.

Last but not certainly least, do not share personal information online. Do not feel the urge to share where you live, your relative and even how much money you spent on your latest property. It is like they say in movies, what you say shall be used against you. Scammers have their noses up ready to prey on the newest victim. If you tell people your nickname, email, mobile number, names of parents/relatives, physical address and where you work, you are giving ammunition to scammers to bring you down. Do not share everything. Do not!

By Henry Mworia (Veteran)

THIS BLOG WAS FIRST DISCUSSED AT EGERTON RADIO BY HENRY MWORIA (VETERAN) DURING THE TRAP GANG SHOW (1PM-3PM EAST AFRICAN TIME).

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