Thursday, 2 February 2012

Linking data to geography - the demise of privacy?


A rather grand title, but a topic which constantly comes up when I get into rather too detailed discussions with friends and random strangers at parties.

I'm woeful with names so the Whitepages Neighbors site sounds like a good idea.  They've launched an app which lists names and numbers for your neighbours overlaid on a map of your local area.  But my cynical side can already see particularly unsavoury uses for this - phoning to check if someone is at home before you break into their house.

Joining data to geographic locations, which was possible for individuals previously on a manual and labourious basis, can release a lot more information about individuals and families than they might care to make public.  The power of joining through geography is a double edged sword.

 


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