It seems like a big step towards addressing this would be for phone software designers to have location sharing off by default and to warn users about the privacy risks if they try to turn it on (especially if they try to turn it on when not in use). nytimes.com/interactive/20…
It seems like most apps don't need location info, so the default should be off. And a warning would let people decide when they have a need to give that info, normally only when the app is on, but in rare cases, always. Would help users make smart choices w/o regulation.
If I'm right about this -- and maybe I'm totally wrong, of course! -- this is an example of a tech enabling a privacy violation only b/c most users aren't aware of the new risk and don't think about it. Seems like the tech default fix would be a big step toward addressing it.
I see this as a common dynamic with new technologies. At first the new tech is a magic black box. It just works, but you don't know how and don't care. But then as it becomes more familiar, you start to learn how it works, what it can do, and how its design may be a problem.
With apps and location services, we're just finishing the magic black box phase and starting the closer-look phase. And the closer look shows strange choices users don't need and wouldn't like, only b/c users didn't know about it in the black box phase.
