What Are Location-Based Services? By J.T. Barett, Use location-based services for spontaneous meetings with friends. Location-based services add real convenience and value to your smartphone’s repertoire of functions. Using signals from GPS, cellular and Wi-Fi sources, your phone automatically determines its location and combines this information with maps, business addresses and other data. Apps for navigation, transportation, bargain hunting and geotagging use this information. If you have concerns about nosy organizations tracking your whereabouts through your phone, you can turn the location services off at any time. Have a question? Get an answer from online tech support now! Signal Sources Your phone estimates its location using a variety of signals. GPS is the most accurate, determining your phone’s position to within about five meters. A satellite constellation in orbit around the Earth generates GPS signals. According to Penn State University, a mobile device must have a direct line of sight to three satellites to locate a point. If you are underground, in a building, tunnel or downtown area surrounded by tall structures, GPS signals are weak or blocked. Under these circumstances, your phone relies on signals from cell towers and Wi-Fi hot spots. Although these signals do not broadcast their own locations, Apple, Google and other smartphone companies have gathered databases marking the locations of these sources. If your phone is in the range of three cell towers, it determines the distance to each one, creating a “triangulation” or intersection point locating you to within about 500 meters. In some areas, such as in a deep, remote valley, your phone receives none of these signals, and it cannot find its location at all. In urban settings, where location services are most useful day-to-day, your phone nearly always has a clear signal from several sources. Uses Apps that use location-based services all depend on information that determines where you are in relation to other people, places and things. A navigation app, for example, finds the best routes between a starting location and a destination. As you travel the recommended route, the phone automatically updates your location on a map, so you can mark your progress as you go. The map shows nearby businesses such as banks, gas stations, restaurants and lodging. Consumer apps like Yelp provide customer reviews of nearby businesses, and apps such as GasBook and GasBuddy locate the closest gas stations along with the prices they charge. In the realm of social media, well-known social media sites, including Facebook, Foursquare and Google Plus, combine social contacts with clubs, restaurants and public venues. You “check in” to a location, invite others and earn participation points, in some cases, from the app’s operator. The Glympse app shares your location with others, letting them know you are on your way to meet them. You send a friend a text message containing a Web link. She clicks the link and opens a Web map showing where you are. She can update the map to follow your progress as you travel to her house. The link eventually expires, keeping your location private. Geotagging apps associate a location with a photo or other media file. Many smartphones automatically tag photos with the places at which you took them. You can subsequently organize your photos on a map and view them by clicking on map points. Controlling Location Services Controls in your smartphone’s software turn location services on and off. For iPhone, Android and Windows 7 users, launch the Settings app. On an iPhone, tap Location Services, which appears as the fourth item on the screen’s list. Turn Location Services on or off for all apps by sliding the switch control in the upper right corner of the screen. The iPhone lists each app that uses location-based services. You selectively enable services for individual apps by sliding the switch next to the app’s name on the screen. On an Android phone, tap “Privacy” in the Settings app and touch the check box by “Use My Location.” You can further tweak the Android’s use of GPS and Wi-Fi by launching the Power Control Widget and tapping on those services to turn them off. For Windows 7 phones, tap “Location” on the Settings app and then turn off Location Services by sliding the switch control. On a Blackberry device, navigate to the home screen or folder and click the “Options” icon. Click “Advanced Options” followed by “GPS.” Change the “Location Aiding” field to “Disabled.” Press the Menu key and click “Save.” Concerns About Location Services To establish and maintain a location as you move, your phone monitors a steady stream of signals. The constant monitoring keeps the phone’s microprocessor busy and taxes the battery. If you use location services only occasionally, turning the feature off until you need it extends the battery’s useful charge. Organizations profit from knowing your personal information, including your location. Location-aware ads, for example, target viewers by their proximity to local businesses. However, few organizations outside law enforcement use an individual’s location data for any length of time. When you install an app that prompts you for access to location services, think about whether you want the app to have this information before you respond. If location data is not a central part of why you chose the app, deny access. You can always turn it on later. You can also remove the app and look for a less-intrusive alternative. Be aware that cell phone hardware and software vendors share location data with third parties for advertising, market research and software improvements. The companies cover this in their service agreements; by using the services, you agree to this sharing. Although the data does not identify you personally, some users feel location-sharing poses a threat to their privacy. To use location services, your phone’s cellular communications, GPS and Wi-Fi must be active, so your phone is sending and receiving signals. When you take your phone on an aircraft, these signals interfere with the plane’s navigation equipment; the FCC and FAA have banned cell phone conversations during flight. This means you cannot use location-based services on your smartphone while flying. The same restrictions apply if you use your phone near sensitive electronic equipment, as is found in a hospital.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 11:45:00 +0000
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