As summer quickly approaches, the time for vacations and trips are upon us. If any of you are headed to the lake across town or traveling to the beach halfway around the country, some will share their location with friends and strangers on social media. For anyone with a very small social network of people they know and trust, this location sharing isn’t really a problem. But where you have hundreds or thousands of followers who you don’t actually know, sharing this information is less safe.
Burglars have been known to monitor social media. The pics of you and the family picking up shells along the beach clear evidence that you’re not at home. This means that your house is empty – a perfect target for theft. These incidents are rare, but the risk is real.
You might consider sharing specific information with individuals and not the general public. By using applications like Apple’s iMessage and Find My Friends App you can send pinpoint locations to specific contacts.
Here are some rules to follow when posting your location on the internet:
- Do not share your location with the general public.
- Always think carefully who else may be following you.
- Regularly check who your location is shared with – and remove permissions for anyone who doesn’t need to know.
- Use privacy-focused apps to ensure your location isn’t exposed to the public.
- One final rule of thumb – if you can’t be sure, don’t share.
Concerned about lost or stolen devices, privacy of confidential information, or the scary risks of mobile and cloud computing? CONTACT US today at (512) 388-5559.
By Josh Wilmoth
CEO, Central Texas Technology Solutions