Is Open Location the Next Open?

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By Matt Ball | 06 May 2011 | 2130

There are a growing number of open movements that include open access, open source software, open government, open standards, open data, open courseware, open science, etc. The Internet is the catalyst for these movements, with its ability to offer transparency, a repository, and a means to create community connections. With all the pushback on how both Apple and Google have stored personal location data, will open location be the next movement?

There are a growing number of open movements that include open access, open source software, open government, open standards, open data, open courseware, open science, etc. The Internet is the catalyst for these movements, with its ability to offer transparency, a repository, and a means to create community connections. With all the pushback on how both Apple and Google have stored personal location data, will open location be the next movement?

There are existing standards for interoperable linkages between location-based service providers, but what we’re talking about here is more of a user-centric movement as backlash to how Apple and Google have treated user locations. Researchers at the New York Times just launched Openpaths that is specifically aimed at sharing archived locations from Apple devices for research purposes. This commendable effort goes a good way toward gleaning insight on aggregated location data without exposing identity, but it’s aimed specifically at sharing of Apple’s data before a patch is released to fix the problem. What Openpaths has started might provide a jumping off point for a means to consistently archive and analyze location outside of, and independent from, your cell phone carrier or smart phone environment.

User Control

Along the lines of other open efforts, the open location movement should be less about the commercial potential and more about possibility. At present we give away our location very freely, seldom realizing its value or the repercussions on how we are profiled. Our locations say a lot about us, and are being mined for all sorts of insight, but the catch at present is that we have little control. The idea of pervasive and consistent personal tracking, but with full control on when and how we share that information, has some interesting possibilities.

There is value to the insight into human behavior derived from our location. The promise of location-based services have been around for more than ten years now, and an interesting evolution in that span is that we used to fear the cell phone carriers, but it’s now the operating system providers and device manufacturers that are feared. Regardless of the power shift, there have always been issues of privacy concern about who knows where I am and what I’m doing, particularly when there is a recording of my movements. Putting more transparency on who knows this information, and providing ironclad opt-out capabilities should now be demanded.

Restrictive but Not Restricting

Setting restrictions on location information is a tough road now that we’ve come to expect development platforms with open sharing of location. While the days of unregulated access to location may be over, the curtailing of ‘clandestine’ tracking is perhaps as simple as providing reports of what is known about movements, and providing a means for users to explore their records. The element of transparency provides the needed trust that has been lost, and the many benefits of enhanced social interaction and improved navigation are likely all the payment that is needed.

There is a growing realization that we are our best sensors, and the use of people for gathering metrics on a wide number of things via location-enabled handheld devices is gaining ground. The recent Leafsnap application that provides a means to determine tree type in exchange for the location where the tree was found is one example of simple permission-based use of location that is point specific and that opens up a whole channel of citizen science. Similar commercial exchanges of information regarding your interest in particular goods and services along with your location provide a more transparent and equitable exchange than a service provider who knows your profile and is tracking your whereabouts. A move toward transaction-based location would provide a good degree of insight into location interactions with a more manageable data stream, and a feeling that trust has been restored.

Owning the Insight

A good deal of the outrage about ‘locationgate’ has to do with insight that people have about us that we might not realize ourselves. Unleashing control of our interactions, without having access to this information, feels that we’re giving control of our lives to outside entities that may even be unknown to us. We should be the owners of this insight or at least privy to the details that others know as well as the repercussions.

Parallels on control of outcome can be drawn to our personal credit score. We’re aware on a transaction or monthly basis of how and where we spend our money and extend our credit, even if we might lose sight of the big picture of our debt. Similarly, if we’re to be tracked and profiled based on our interactions, we should at a minimum know what conclusions others are drawing from this information. Ideally, we’ll also be able to close off and erase those records against those we don’t trust.

The issue of transparent location and tracking is one of fundamental freedom that is fraught with past transgressions of power and control. An open location exchange, with a focus on insight rather than monetary gains, would provide a focus on the promise of technology rather than the leverage of closed devices. If we’re to make the most of this technology, then the control of location must rest solely in the hands of the individual if society and commerce are to benefit.

About Matt Ball

Matt Ball

Matt has been promoting the application of sensors, systems, models and simulation for the better stewardship of our planet for the past fifteen years. The first ten years of that span were as editor of GeoWorld magazine and show manager of the GeoTec Event. The past five have been as a founder of Vector1 Media, with publications Sensors & Systems, Informed Infrastructure and Asia Surveying & Mapping. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.