“Geofencing” enables new location-based apps, raises privacy concerns

JP Manninen reports:

A coffee shop pinging your cell phone with a deal for latte when you’re 300 feet away? A mother alerted when her child leaves the school grounds? All this is done with “geofencing“, the latest thing in location-based services, according to some proponents and users.

Geofencing means setting up a virtual perimeter—the “fence” around a location, such as a restaurant. When people carrying cell phones cross that perimeter, the system becomes aware that they are physically nearby and can push information to the phones, for example, a list of today’s specials.

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