TRACKING YOU BY YOUR PHOTOS, and other random thoughts on privacy.

Anybody?. Im interested in the devotees of posting photos.

it's interesting, i believe you can manually modify the settings, but i think that security and privacy should be the default setting, not an option

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whats the learning curve on that?

I was watching a segment on Fridays news in NYC and there was an example of how insidious this can be. They even added some "cleanup" software to remove the Jpeg and GPS, but a reasonably astute hacker got through with no trouble. Scary what?

I don't ever post from those things. Certainly no pictures. I only use facebook to see if my kids have posted anything good.

No idea in the world I just look for such a tool by way of Google after your posting.

Note it would seem that GIF and some other formats does not support such tags so you could convert them to GIF or other such formats and then reconvert using a batch file.

That might be a lot safer as a lot of camera manufactures also add data by non-standard means that a removing tool might not find.

Wonderful world we live in.

If you want to see the metadata on pictures on your computer
View metadata in Windows Explorer



It appears uploading photos to Facebook strips out the metadata

a couple of friends have said that's why Facebook albums are the only place they post their pix now

not sure I believe or care

(if you're a good where's waldo player, my posts and profile will bring you to within a block of my house - don't need metadata from photos to do that)

you live by Waldo?

how cool is that...

turn left at the striped shirt

it's on his mom's clothesline right now

she didn't know it was going to rain

I guess my point wasnt that the ability to track anybody based upon photos iis cool or another feature odf our com puters. I am seeking some sense of what we may feel about our own expectations of privacy. I dont use many of the shopping cards and discount cards that many stores ply on us. Maybe I have an extreme sense of privacy I wish to maintain and I dont want ( atleast) to be providing information about me or my habits, or location, without my approval.

It appears that many of us consensually abrogate any expectation of privacy and that such a position seems to be ok for many.

I guess I don't understand any of the technology enough to understand how I could possibly be putting me or anyone in my house at risk by posting a photo.

I don't have a cell phone with a camera and I don't have a Blackberry-I don't even REALLY know what a Blackberry is.

I have a combination digital/slr camera that I take pictures with. I download them onto my computer when I get home and then I upload them (I don't even know if I used those terms correctly) onto facebook or a2k when I feel like it.

How could someone find out where I live from that? I don't think they could. And anyway, I'm not really afraid of people to the extent that I don't want anyone to know where I live. What could they do? Nothing that anyone walking down the street past my door couldn't do if they wanted to.

I am a lot more careful about using paypal or handing out my bank details over the phone or on the computer. I do check my bank statements to make sure I can account for all the charges. I NEVER use credit cards.

In terms of those store cards, they're neither here nor there to me. If I were buying something I was embarrassed to be buying, I might care- but I don't.

It's like this thing with using weird names for your kids on here. Who the hell is going to figure out who Joseph and Olivia are and where they go to school from the names Joseph and Olivia? And if they do - so what? Are they going to try to abduct or hurt them or something? I don't get it myself.

My expectation of privacy is based upon experiences that others have had in their lives. Anything with a gps in it can be tracked and Im not sure I wish to be trackeable to that extent. While it may prove desirable if Im in the field (I keep my cell with me when Im in the field). But, I worry about kids n predators, unscrupulous marketers, and just plain nuts having the ability to know anyones whereablout.

As I said before, the consensus seems to be "What me woryy", {erhaps Im just a bit more sensitive and dont want anything out there that I dont wnt out there.

Facebook may disable any metadata, but the very business model it conveys is one of open access to just about anyone . I dont participate and have been criticized. Mostly I have no interest in reaching out to former acquaintances with whom I shared a cubicle or a classroom. I keep in touich with those I wish to and those I have to.

I am not trying to make an argument for my lifestyle, I merely wish to understand the motivation of those who approve of the concept of having almost NO expectation of privacy.

The Constitution has never mentioned privacy but the 4th amendment has often been interpreted to be a frame surrounding what the concepts of illegal searches and seizures mean.

Well, as far as the facebook thing goes, I can take it or leave it-EXCEPT for looking at photos that people post. But in my case, I don't live anywhere near any of my old friends and I have found it a great way to be able to see what people look like now, how their kids have grown, etc., etc. For someone like my sister- who was born, raised and is still living in the same town - it's not so useful.
In terms of actual communication- I think it's just one more step down the road to more breadth and less depth, which I'm not really a fan of.

In terms of my attitude toward privacy- I do think I may be a little blase in terms of letting people know where I live, what my kids look like, etc. but that's only because I don't perceive any sort of actual threat from people knowing those things.

In terms of predators- if you're talking about people taking kids' pictures off the internet and using them, I'm always really careful about the pictures of my kids that I post. They are always fully clothed.

But again, because I don't have a very technologically aware brain - I'm also not always thinking about what technology can be used to do something other than what I intend with the photos I post, if anything.
I don't post anything that I don't want people to know-basically- and if I do post something that means I don't care who knows it.

America: Freedom to Fascism
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0772153/

If you haven’t seen this film and like to think outside you comfort zone, I highly recommend watching it. The production covers such topics as unlawful taxes, civil "rights", and even tracking everyone solely based on the very money they spend every day. (p.s. you can Netflix it)

Tracking people based on pictures isn’t that bad in retrospec, due to the fact that YOU can choose not to upload them. But if you think you are not being watched by other means, I suggest you keep your eyes open and be more aware of what is and is not being tracked. The list for what is not being tracked grows shorter by the day...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38705140/38483521
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30645782/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38737394/38763240
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38814214

to name just a few known by the public...