February 4, 2009

Google Latitude: Share Your Location with Friends

The latest version of Google Maps for Mobile adds a new feature that lets you share your location with friends and see their locations in real-time. Google Latitude is the first step for adding more social features to Google Maps and to other Google services.

"How often do you find yourself wondering where your friends are and what they're up to? It's a pretty central question to our daily social lives, and it's precisely the question you can now answer using Google Latitude," explains Google's blog.


After installing Google Maps Mobile 3.0 (only available for Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 right now), you can share your location automatically or set your location manually. You can also post a short status and choose a profile photo.


Here's the complete list of things you can do using Latitude:
After selecting yourself, you can:
- Change your status message across Google products. Your status will only be shared with your current Google Talk or Gmail chat friends.
- Change your photo across Google products.
- Submit or edit your phone number in Latitude for your friends.
- Edit your privacy settings for all friends.

After selecting a friend, you can:
- Show the friend in map view.
- Search for places near your friend.
- Call if a phone number is available in your Google Contacts or Latitude.
- Chat using Google Talk or Gmail chat if available.
- Send an email.
- Get directions to the friend's approximate location.
- Set sharing options. You can choose to hide your location or share only city level location with individual friends.
- Remove the friend. Your friend cannot see your location and you cannot see the friend's location.

"Everything about Latitude is opt-in. You not only control exactly who gets to see your location, but you also decide the location that they see. For instance, let's say you are in Rome. Instead of having your approximate location detected and shared automatically, you can manually set your location for elsewhere — perhaps a visit to Niagara Falls. Since you may not want to share the same information with everyone, Latitude lets you change the settings on a friend-by-friend basis. So for each person, you can choose to share your best available location or your city-level location, or you can hide."

If your mobile phone is not yet supported by the new version of Google Maps, you can add an iGoogle gadget that has similar features.


Location-based services will be increasingly popular now that mobile phones with GPS and fast Internet connections become the standard and the privacy expectations are changing. Eventually, you'll be able to share your location with other applications and obtain personalized information, alerts and even recommendations. From this perspective, Yahoo's Fire Eagle is better-suited for shaping the future of location-based services.

38 comments:

  1. This look wonderful. Great fantasy to show our Friend all over the globe

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  2. This is really great, Use it when your girlfriend is not home and watch where she is.. :D

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  3. Alex - in case you are living in Bucharest / Romania - you already know that the nice service you are describing is not available at all. I have checked on my iPhone.

    More - the Google Maps service is not available at all in your own country.

    Please do not forget this important detail in your posting(s) ... :-(

    -- Vasile

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  4. hey what about the iphone

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  5. Supported phones

    "Google Latitude is available on the following mobile devices wherever Google Maps for mobile v3.0 and above is supported:

    - Android-powered devices with Maps v3.0 and above. G1 users in the US will be receiving Maps v3.0 in a system update soon.
    - Most color BlackBerry devices
    - Most Windows Mobile 5.0 and above devices. Note: Some Windows Mobile devices don't support cell-ID location detection.
    - Most Symbian S60 devices

    Coming soon!
    - iPhone and iPod touch devices with the Google Mobile App (in the US)
    - Many Sony Ericsson devices."

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  6. This, of course, is a fun little toy... But, as one who is experienced with similar applications, one's privacy is usually intact IN THE BEGINNING... but..... What is voluntary "fun" can, in almost no time, become a requirement.. Example: A boss that insists, if you want to work for him, that he is able to keep track of you at all times.. Already companies have GPS systems in trucks and cars so that, regardless of your wishes for privacy, you are closely kept track of, often within 10 to 20 feet...and to the second.. Now, think hard about it....Remember.. Something voluntary can, very quickly, become "required".... and you think, "Why didn't I see this coming??" BUT, WORSE THAN THAT, where you are, when you're there, how long you're there. and how fast you were going to get there, will likely, at some point, become a permanent record.. and you can feasibly be your own worst enemy when you get involved in legal hassles....and provide the rope for your own hanging.. I'm afraid to ask what the possibilities are with our present cell phone's GPS feature..... My guess is that this Google deal will be very popular to start with, but then people are going to realize that they, actually, DON"T WANT folks to know where they are all the time, and they don't want to be constantly explaining why they were "out of touch" when they've decided to turn the tracking features "Off"....

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  7. Very VERY Good points Anonymous. To add to what you have said. What if your account gets hacked and a thief decides to keep track of you and your spouse? They'll then know exactly when to break into your house and steal all your precious computer equipment (thereby rendering you unable to Google at home for a while). SCARY THOUGHT. *shakes in fear of the thought of getting robbed because of Google Latitude*

    HOWEVER...the manual feature could possibly help with tracking down abducted children, people who may have become injured while hiking and cannot get to their phone to call for help, or heck...what if you lost your phone??? Track it down. Be sure to also attach your keys to your phone in the event you lose your keys AND phone. If that happens, NO PROBLEM! Hop on Google Maps and BAM! AND...with Live Street View, you can even see them laying there in the parking lot waiting for you to pick them up!!!

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  8. if you want probe location based service like this come to http://ww.videomap.it opensocial gadgets location based service with google gears and clientlocation

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  9. Use a Faraday bag or remove the battery to make sure you have privacy - it's too difficult to detect whether your phone or wireless provider has been hacked.

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  10. Now wouldn't the Nazi's or Stalin's or Mao's (add your own particular nasty as required - plenty to choose from!) mob love this device - use it at your own peril!

    Think the motto 'do no harm 'has just been put to sleep for good.

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  11. That's it. I'm moving to a different universe.

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  12. Hey if this eorks, maybe next they can just implant chips into us so we can monitored all the time?

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  13. One of the basic functionalities has gotten a new home and been put on a map. Nice.

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  14. ... of Jaiku, that is.

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  15. Oh look, I can see George Orwell! Hmmm, he appears to be in a cemetery in England somewhere. Hmmm, looks like he is rolling around a lot too.

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  16. George just texted me via Google SMS and said that he was glad you remembered him. He sends his XOXOXO.

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  17. I think it is an invasion of privacy.

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  18. So Google is biting Brightkite, a much better app than Latitude. Furthermore, I trust Brightkite with info. about my frequently visited locations. Can't say I trust Google with any personal information anymore.

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  19. i like to turn mobile off, i use it like a clock ;}

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  20. Ipoki is offering same and even more complete functionality for more than two years.

    This time you came a bit late Google...

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  21. something strange: you can revoke access of Google latitude from your "My account" and then i got this message "Currently there are no third party". is Google latitude a third party , and why specially this site that i can revoke access..

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  22. As usual this is not available in Japan yet.... :-(

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  23. ciao,
    ho realizzato una applicazione che integra Facebook e Latitude, condivido in parte la sensazione che se voglio sapere dove sono gli amici... posso sempre telefonare... ma credo che questa tecnologia possa trovare una propria utilità!

    Se volete provare l'applicazione di facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/locate_me/

    Se invece siete interessati all'integrazione di Latitude con il vostro sito web: http://www.cubeba.biz

    ciao

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  24. My ex husband is a stalker and a computer hacker ( Yes, it's you Mr. Dutchboy in Roanoke, Va.) Scary thought.

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  25. Hi
    It is a nice feature but if the security is well done.
    I think it is not available in Turkey yet. But I am not sure whether Google can achieve this application in Turkey. I know that in Turkey gsm operators can not give the location information of their subscribers' to other companies, applications etc. So google can only use gps information in Turkey. Do you know any other method to implement latitude in Turkey or how google can achieve this?

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  26. Google Latitude: Share Your Location with Friends

    Finding location of a CHATROOM FRIEND is very easy with

    www.chatrack.frihost.net

    Free SignUp in less than 30 seconds

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  27. the world will end soon. the antichrist is going to be here and he is going to use tiny microchips implanted into our skin "the mark of the beast" when this happens anyone will be tracked down whenever and there is nothing we can do. whatever you do DO NOT i repeat DO NOT TAKE THE MARK OF THE BEAST, or your soul will be damned for all eternity!!!

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  28. Sony Ericsson is no more on the list of supported telephones... :(

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  29. sad that sony ericsson is no more on the list, i just bought a new SE phone :(

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  30. oh ... when my boss here's about this we're getting screwed... he's a control freak ... Hope they don't implement this in Holland for a very very long time... forever would be good....

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  31. Pls Join the Google Latitude community for Indian users in orkut:
    Google Latitude

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  32. Good heavens, doesn't anyone respect PRIVACY anymore?

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  33. If u add a friend will the app suggest that friend to your other friends automatically?

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  34. Hi

    I buy property and would like people who come to my website to be able to select a location and somehow share that location with me. Is there an easy way to integrate such a google map on my webpage?

    Thank

    A

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  35. Agilestorelocator.com is the expert in wordpress module and store locator wordpress. Here is likewise choices accessible for the Location finder WordPress.

    ReplyDelete

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