Monday, April 2, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

‘Girls Around Me’: an app user’s guide to stalking

Posted: 01 Apr 2012 03:24 PM PDT

Stalking has officially reached an all new low after an iPhone app was discovered this week called ‘Girls Around Me’, that allows users to find and contact women near them.

Developed by a Russian company called iFree in December 2011, the app accesses data from Foursquare, a social networking site that lets people check in their current location using GPS.

The iPhone app displays a radar button which, when pressed, searches for and pinpoints the location of various women in the surrounding vicinity onto Google Maps.

If this wasn’t bad enough, it then offers users access to all available data about each girl by opening their Facebook page. Here, users are able to find out a girl’s full name, view all of her photographs, and finally, if they like what they see, send a girl a private message.

Detected by members of the ‘Cult of Mac‘ following, it has since been rapidly donned as the ‘creepiest’ app around.

The less said about the app’s marketing allure the better.

“In the mood for love, or just after a one-night stand?” reads the caption.

Described as the “perfect companion to any pick-up strategy”, its derogatory pitch shows no end.

“Send a sultry message via Facebook or turn up at the venue armed with flowers and a winning smile to sweep that special girl off her feet!"

Somehow it seems doubtful that a girl will feel ‘swept off her feet’ by a complete stranger who freakishly knows everything about her.

The app has highlighted  major concerns over the safety and privacy of women who use Foursquare and other social networking sites.

Although it may not appear too dissimilar from ordinary dating sites, the problem here is that most women are unaware that their details are so easily available.

The app itself survives on the fact that many social network users don’t adjust their privacy settings after first signing up. As a result, many girls lay victim to having their personal details and in turn entire lives open to the public.

Following its discovery, a spokesperson for Foursquare, Laura Covington, has said that the app violates API (Application Programming Interface) policy. API’s allow user data to be shared across web pages between developers and businesses. However, there are strict protocols that prevent such data from being shared so openly in a public setting.

“We’ve reached out to the developer and shut off their API access,” Covington said. Regardless of these measures being taken, the app is still available for download at the iTunes store.