When Apple released its new iOS 5 operatingsystem to go with its iPhone 4S, it touted a new application called "FindMy Friends" as a great way to track and meet up with friends. Similar inconcept to Google Latitude, Find My Friends lets users follow people who haveaccepted requests in their own copies of the app. Once they give the thumbs up,friends will appear both on a list of contacts and on a Google map.
As needed users can toggle parental and privacy controls.The most important of these may be temporary sharing, which will automaticallystop tracking by others after a certain length of time. Find My Friends is afree universal app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, but requiresboth iOS 5 and an iCloud account.
While this social application might be quite useful forbuddies to have fun staking and meeting each other unexpectedly, some usersmight find suitable applications to get is utilized. If the online postsappearing on a chat forum at MacRumors.com are for real, "Find MyFriends" may have already claimed its first marriage.
October 15, 2011 on MacRumors, a man saying he lived in New York City
Divorcing wife. Thanks iPhone 4s and Find My Friends.
I got my wife a new 4sand loaded up find my friends without her knowing. She told me she was at herfriends house in the east village. I've had suspicions about her meeting thisguy who live uptown. Lo and behold, Find my Friends has her right there.
I just texted her asking where she was and the dumb b!otch said she was on10th Street
thankfully, she's the rich one.
I just texted her asking where she was and the dumb b!otch said she was on
thankfully, she's the rich one.
It has not been determined whether the story posted onMacRumors was, in fact, authentic, and the man did not immediately reply to arequest from ABC News for comment. But more than 100,000 people have viewed theposts, according to MacRumors. More than 300 of them replied with expressionsof sympathy, skepticism and -- this being the Internet -- a few less-than-savoryjokes.
Arnold Kim, the editorial director of MacRumors, said it was"definitely a busy thread."
MacRumors did not try to verify the man's story (if, infact, it was a man), but said everyone who registers for its forums has tovalidate their email when they register.
"Find My Friends" uses the iPhone or iPad'sbuilt-in Global Positioning System to see your friends' locations on a map onthe screen of your device. GPS can be accurate to within a few feet forcivilian uses.
Apple says "The Find My Friends app is a great way toshare your location with people who are important to you" -- whetheryou're trying to meet friends at a crowded concert or make sure your kids getsafely home from school.
The man was back with a new post less than an hour later,including a couple of screen grabs showing the location of his wife was on East65th St., though she sent him a text message saying, "Was hard to findstupid cab hate meat packing...."
The husband again: "Shesaid she is in meat packing district which is on 12th street
How true the story is? Or that is a marketing trick of theApple developers? Or that is application developers? In any case, the associatedbuzz will make the trick. The software is free for to use, so there is nofinancial barrier for its installation.
In any case, if you like the application, and its potential,you should be aware on the possible negative outcomes, not being considered.
Once you're being followed by someone, they can discoveryour location, or at least the location of your phone, at any time, with threeexceptions:
- When your phone is turned off or otherwise off the grid,
- After you've deleted that person from your list of followers, or
- When you go into Hide mode, which you find under the Me menu at the bottom of the screen.
Note that deleting someone from the list of people you'refollowing is different than deleting a person from your list of people allowed followingyou. Also, you can still see the locations of other people when you're in Hidemode.
One of Find My Friends' best features is the Temporary modefound in the top-level menu. This allows you to set up select windows of time,adjustable to the half-hour, in which you're able to follow another person andlet him or her follow you. Once the time window has expired, you're unfindableto each other and will have to submit new requests to once again appear on eachothers' maps.
This is nice for two reasons. 1) People forget. If youreally want to be visible to this person only for a select amount of time, butthen you forget to manually turn off access for days/weeks/months, it leavesyou with a very strange feeling. 2) A temporary invitation that automaticallyexpires just seems smoother than actively defriending someone.
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