From the Redbook site in the U.S., an interesting post about how sometimes a little too much information can be appended to an iPhone pic.  May apply to other smartphones as well.

Here's the complete thread:  http://forum.myredbook.com/dcforum2/DCForumID8/29764.html

And below is the original post:

Learned a lesson the hard way recently … thought I’d share, save someone the same oops …
A ‘friend’ was over to show me her new tattoo … she asked me to take a pic so she could post it on an enthusiast site, so I take a pic with my phone and post it on the forum for her.

Positive feedback from the others on the forum and all was good.

Then all of a sudden, there is a new post in the thread with a google map of my house, my name and phone number ... with less than constructive remarks about iphone users.

Apparently when you take a pic with a 3g/3gs it attaches GPS data to the image. By uploading the image from my phone, that data is transferred with the pic and anyone with an EXIF reader (free utility) can read this data.

Fortunately in this case a mod deleted the thread immediately, and the community went ballistic on the 'person' for doing that. On the other hand, I felt like a complete dumbass for not knowing …

I assume pics currently stored on the phone (or downloaded to your PC) would have the GPS data as well.

So lesson learned … if you take a pic with your iphone, (other GPS equipped phones ?) open and save it with a paint program before distributing … (or download a utility that strips off the EXIF / gps data)

Hope that helps / saves someone.

Check if your phone has geotagging.  I stopped taking pics with my phone once I realised that it had it, as it would be too easy for the other half to track where the photo was taken.

Many phones, even without GPS, will save location data based on the cell signal too, and tag it onto an image.

I assume that tags wont remain on most uploaded images, unless the whole original file is posted online, but that's a big assumption.

The easiest thing to do is to copy the contents of the picture into a new image, and upload that rather than the original image.

Take care, guys

what! i had no idea my iphone does this, thank you for pointing this out!
cant believe i have been using it for so long without clocking on to it, usually i am uber paranoid about that kind of stuff-
though getting clocked with wg photos geotagged or not is going to get you in trouble with the other half

The real danger is with outcalls to your residence.  In that situation you have a naked prostitute geotagged to your home! Ouch!

hahaha.. i couldnt help but to ROFL when i read that...  it is highly highly unadvisable to bring any wg's to your home.  i've read many instances where the girls has demanded more tip money otherwise they will start screaming OR they will tell the driver and his friend to come in and "discuss" the situation.  but yeah, i can just picture someone taking pictures and then posting it on the internet.. LOL.

Outcalls are real common in the U.S.  I never order outcall for the reasons you mention, but lots of other guys consider it to be no risk or low risk.

here is what i think.

The post was freak or the girl play a trick on him.

First have you guys use the the GPS on a smart phone? It is not that accurate.  Even if the person read the GPS location

from the pic. How the hell can the reader knows his name and his phone number from a gps location. i think the guy is

making it up. It could be the girl was messing with the poster. By asking to take the pic so post it on a forum and when

she was at his place.  she has all the info. She use that info and with a log in name, she posted the info on the forum to mess with him.

I have a smart phone and i don't have the gps location for taking pics turn on. I think is impossible for someone to take

the gps info form a pic and can find out the person name and phone and address. So i think the post is freak or the WG

was fucking with him.

That is 2cent about what happen.

[ Last edited by  Raptorfan at 1-12-2009 13:51 ]