It’s been a few years since the word “app” became commonplace and now there seems to be a new app being discussed every five minutes. There are entire websites devoted to reviewing apps, and now Google has started a new app marketplace they call “Google Play.”
With so many apps available, it’s no surprise that once in a while one will cause controversy. Most recently, an app called “Girls Around Me” was really freaking people out.
“Girls Around Me” collected information from social networking sites like Facebook and Foursquare, and gave users a map of their area with the GPS locations of women that had recently checked into places nearby.
This seems like a tool for stalkers and rapists, and it doesn’t make it any better that the app’s loading screen was a picture of James Bond-style female silhouettes dancing seductively.
According to iFree, the company behind “Girls Around Me,” the app was created so people could find the popular places around them where women like to hang out. The app doesn’t link to the GPS on their phones so people can follow them around, it simply collects information that is already available through Foursquare and displays it in another form.
The only reason why there was such a negative response to this app is because of the context. If you call something “Girls Around Me” it sounds like a tool for serial killers but if you give a cute hipster name like “Foursquare,” everybody is okay with it.
The funny thing is, they’re the exact same thing. If you have your Facebook privacy settings turned off and you tag yourself and your friends every time you hang out at Starbucks, the information is going public for everyone to see.
I’m not saying that this app isn’t creepy; it’s undeniably creepy, but so is Foursquare and every other kind of “check-in” software that we’re so eager to use. We’re slowly allowing our social networks to remove our privacy bit by bit as long as they come up with catchy brand names for it like “timeline” and “Foursquare.” Maybe it’s good that an app like “Girls Around Me” was released so people could see these things as the weird stalker tools that they are.
If you absolutely have to let the people on your friends list know that you and your friends are at Panama Joes, make sure it’s just your friends list that can view that information.
Otherwise you can’t blame creeps like the people behind “Girls Around Me” for using the information to make a few bucks in the app store.
Matt Grippi is a senior journalism major and assistant opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
