Re: getCurrentPosition() to getPosition()?

Le mercredi 21 janvier 2009 à 12:34 +0000, Andrei Popescu a écrit :
> > Most of the privacy issues surrounding the geolocation API seem to arise
> > from the fact that the API is supposed to return the user's current
> > location. At least, JohnM seemed to indicate that it was so during the
> > workshop.
>
> I don't think this is accurate. There are privacy implications with
> disclosing location regardless of the time when that location was
> acquired.

I think the important point about my proposal is that it doesn't
necessarily disclose the user location at all - it may be the location
of whatever else really; maybe someone from CDT can cast some light on
whether this helps or not privacy-wise?

> > What if, instead of making that assumption, the API would be designed to
> > return *a* position, that might or might not be the user's current
> > location? (this would probably require nothing more than changing the
> > name of the function from getCurrentPosition() to getPosition() ?)
> >
> 
> Ok, but I don't really understand what problem it would solve.

The goal (sorry if it wasn't clear) is to solve (or least reduce) the
perceived privacy-problems of disclosing someone's location.

> Furthermore, it would also break many of our existing use cases, would
> it not?

I'm not sure it would - in most of them, it would broaden the use cases
(e.g. find PoI near one of the locations provided by the user rather
than necessarily the current location); and in the use cases that are
current-location-specific (e.g. turn-by-turn navigation), the user would
still be able to pick his current location as a location provider.

Dom

Received on Wednesday, 21 January 2009 13:14:08 UTC