New 'geofencing' apps offer deals and services but raise privacy concerns. New 'geofencing' apps offer deals and services but raise privacy concerns. Submitted: January 3, 2012 - 10:46am Last updated: January 3, 2012 - 11:23am Coverage Type: reporting Location: Emeryville, CA, United States Someone who is in a mall or near a favorite restaurant might get a message on their cell phone about a sale at a store or specials on the menu. Or they could be alerted that their child has left the school grounds. These are just a couple of the possible uses of a new generation of messages, apps and advertisements that go by the moniker geofencing. McDonald's, Victoria's Secret and Best Buy all offer ways for potential customers to get messages on their smartphones about deals or specials at nearby locations. Emeryville-based Location Labs offers alerts and online reports about the whereabouts of family members, as well as services designed to prevent young motorists from texting while driving.
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There are a couple possible reasons for this: The article has expired from our system. What next? You may also want to try our search to locate news and information on MercuryNews.com. If you're looking for an article that was published in the last two weeks, here are more options: You can also click on one of our sections: “Geofencing” enables new location-based apps, raises privacy con. A coffee shop pinging your cell phone with a deal for latte when you’re 300 feet away? A mother alerted when her child leaves the school grounds? All this is done with “geofencing“, the latest thing in location-based services, according to some proponents and users. Geofencing means setting up a virtual perimeter—the “fence” around a location, such as a restaurant. When people carrying cell phones cross that perimeter, the system becomes aware that they are physically nearby and can push information to the phones, for example, a list of today’s specials.
Companies like Shopkick, Loopt and Placecast are already providing geofencing-related services, but it’s still a largely unknown concept. As a colleague put it: “I first thought the fence meant that I am behind it, safe from interruptions and intrusions on my privacy.” Privacy concerns may lag behind the technology, but the point is to attempt the correct approach from the start. Not all the problems of geofencing are related to privacy.