Google launches new phone-tracker service
Internet giant Google today launched a new service which can track people on a computer map via their mobile phones.
The Latitude service is available free in the UK, US and 24 other countries, but initially only works with certain phones and networks.
“This adds a social flavour to Google maps and makes it more fun,” said a Google spokesman.
It could also raise privacy concerns, but Google is doing its best to avoid a backlash by requiring each user to manually turn on the tracking software and making it easy to turn off or limit access to the service.
Google also is promising not to retain any information about its users’ movements. Only the last location picked up by the tracking service will be stored on Google’s computers, the spokesman said.
The software plots a user’s location – marked by a personal picture on Google’s map – by relying on mobile phone masts, global positioning systems or a wi-fi connection to deduce their location.
It is up to each user to decide who can monitor their location.
Initially Google Latitude will work on Blackberries and devices running on Symbian software or Microsoft Windows Mobile. It will also operate on some T-1 Mobile phones running on Google’s Android software and eventually will work on Apple’s iPhone and iTouch.
To widen the software’s appeal, Google is offering a version that can be installed on personal computers as well.
The PC access is designed for people who do not have a mobile phone but still may want to keep tabs on their children or someone else special. People using the PC version can also be watched if they are connected to the internet through wi-fi.
Google can plot a person’s location within a few yards if it uses GPS or might be off by several miles if it relies on transmission from mobile phone masts. People who do not want to be precise about their whereabouts can choose to display just the city.
There are no current plans to sell any advertising alongside Google’s tracking service, although analysts believe knowing a person’s location eventually will unleash new marketing opportunities.
Google has been investing heavily in the mobile market during the past two years in an attempt to make its services more useful to people when they are away from their office or home computers.
