Apparently tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong have signed up for a service that lets them monitor the movements of other people, such as their spouses, by mobile phone.
The service is called “Follow Me, Follow You” and it offers subscribers unlimited spot searches to track a person’s location by identifying the location of their mobile phone signal.
The service can only be used to track people if both parties agree to the searches. It was launched in 2005 and has been growing ever since.
It’s not just about suspicious people checking up on each other. Most subscribers are parents who use want to search for their kids to ensure their safety or to locate elderly parents who may have lost their way home.
It’s a great idea if used the right way. I reckon it might even come in handy for people who are constantly misplacing their phones.
Would you sign up to a service like that? Who would you track? Would you allow someone else to keep tabs on you?
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All I can say is: no way. Sounds creepy. Why do you want to spy on your kids or friends? If you want to know where they are, ring them and ask. If you don’t trust them, you have other problems.
I can see it has some benefits but I agree with Michael and can’t say I’d enjoy someone checking up on me. Not cos I’m doing anything dodgy but it’s an invasion of privacy.
It’s used in South Africa to track hijack victims and stolen cell phones.
See eblockwatch for example.