You may not realise it but when you are using the internet, whether it be on a home computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone, geolocation technology is working in the background. To put it simply, geolocation is the geographical location of a device that is connected to the Internet. It uses longitude and latitude to work out the location of the device.
If you own an iPhone, you may have the ‘Find My iPhone’ feature switched on, so if you were to misplace the device, you can find out exactly where you left the phone. This is a good example of geolocation technology at work and it will lead you to the location of your device.
Your Digital Thumbprint
An Internet Protocol address is used to find the location of a device, such as a laptop or computer. It will never give out information such as your address or identity but it can inform a user of roughly where you are, usually within a few miles. IP addresses use geolocation technology and in terms of IP addresses, companies can use databases, such as the Regional Internet Registries. For example, the RIR for North America is called the American Registry for Internet Numbers and this can be used in many ways.
A good example is online gambling. Now the responsibility sits with each individual state in terms of the legality of online betting in the United States, this means geolocation technology has become hugely important to regulate the industry. are available to those residing in the state of Pennsylvania, which is great. However, what if someone from outside Pennsylvania tried to use one of the gambling websites to place a bet?
Playing within the State Lines
When loading up the website of some online betting companies, you may be asked to click on your location. For those who live in a state where online gambling is still prohibited, you may be tempted to try clicking on a state where it is legally allowed, such as Pennsylvania. However, by using geolocation technology, the website knows where you based and you will be blocked from entering the website. This prevents any illegal betting activity and protects both the user and the gambling operator from any potential legal disputes.
There are two main forms of geolocation technology, device-based data collection that relies on GPS and cellular networks and server-based data collection, which is linked to your device’s IP address. As device-based data collection uses GPS and cellular networks, it works best where there is large number of people, such as a city. Therefore, this would not be as effective in rural areas, with a small number of people spread across a large area. Server-based data collection on the other hand, is information stored based on the location a device via a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection. This is the information often sold by third-party services and you will often see a pop-up window when you enter a website explaining how the data is being used.