Tracking Devices in the Modern World

By: O. Lotufo

Tracking devices are used all around the world for many different purposes. If you have one installed in your car or on your phone, it is of great chances you somehow use location services. Currently, there are various apps you can download to your phone which you can use to pinpoint the exact location of your smartphone: “Find My Phone” and “Find My Friends” are only some of which Apple’s iPhones already come installed with.

Tracking devices come with many benefits. For example, Apple’s operating system already allows users to automatically contact call centers and securely share their location when in danger, which allows for faster and immediate service to be provided for those in need. In addition, whether you are looking for the nearest gas station or the best Italian restaurant nearby, tracking and location services always come in handy. As well as the relieved parents, knowing where their children are at all times and ensuring they are safe.

However, as many of the new technology being developed, tracking devices can be harmful and quite dangerous. It is legal to track someone as long as the person under observation has agreed to this. Yet, there has been an increase of data being illegally accessed by hackers telling them your exact whereabouts. Innumerable amounts of crime and robberies have taken place due to criminals being able to determine someone’s location and where they are heading. Moreover, some of these downloaded tracking apps, if broken into, can give attackers data concerning messages being sent and received not to mention access to photo libraries and personal information.

Location services certainly make our lives easier. Sometimes we don’t even notice that we are sharing our location when navigating through Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Not to mention all those times in which our phones were supposedly lost, and sometimes even stolen, and we just had to access “Find My Phone”. Undoubtedly, tracking devices are a huge asset to our daily lives. Although, the hazards present in these devices are seriously threatening when fallen into the wrong hands. It is for us to decide whether the benefits of such tracking devices outweigh the dangers they pose to ourselves and our society.