Most smartphones, like the Blackberry or the iPhone (antenna problems aside), have GPS capability. The GPS is so accurate that it can pinpoint which room in the house you’re standing in. Well guess what, so can the photos you take with your mobile phone.
The secret to doing this lies within something called the EXIF data. This is the information that is recorded within a photograph whenever you take a photo. Of course, you can’t see it in the pixels of the photograph, but you can view this data on your computer.
Look at the image above. Can you tell where in the world this is? From just looking at the photograph, I doubt so, but this photograph hides a dirty secret. Let’s take a look:
(note: if you want to do this yourself, click on the image for the original, because the one here does not have any metadata)
Wow! Those are some pretty exact coordinates aren’t they? Now all you have to do is translate those coordinates into a street address. A quick check gives the address as 994 Hope St Stamford CT. This person just walked out of the animal hospital.
Scary isn’t it?
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