While your post may seem insightful, it is simply incorrect. I wish you would have taken the time to ask me about how the service works before making assumptions and such "scare tactic" comments based on them. I try and reply to each e-mail sent.
Trapster does NOT track you. That would not even be possible (think about how much data that would be). All it does is return traps in your area. Even when you report traps, the system cannot tell if you called it in via voice, entered it from the Web site, or pressed a button on your phone. Also hacking and subpoena-ing would be a waste of time, as all the data is nicely formatted and available on the site anyway.
Pete,
Trapster.com
Even if the system needed to track you (which it doesn't) it couldn't - think about how much data that would be. It just compares your lat/lng to traps in your area and returns them to you. That's it. The system does not differentiate between traps entered from the mobile, traps entered from the Web site, or traps entered from some other source (and other sources are coming). Say you are in Zimbabwe. You can enter a trap in Washington DC, and it still shows on the map (and in the DB) the same way as if you pressed a button on your mobile while at that GPS location in DC. Even if you are at that place and press the button, you can adjust the position of the trap when you get back home (drag and drop), which people often do (let's say they didn't press the button in time, or accidentally pressed a button).
So the system doesn't store the sort of information you suggest, nor does it store enough information to derive your location at any particular time. Not because it's hiding anything - it simply doesn't need to.
Pete.
Slashdot Mirror
While your post may seem insightful, it is simply incorrect. I wish you would have taken the time to ask me about how the service works before making assumptions and such "scare tactic" comments based on them. I try and reply to each e-mail sent. Trapster does NOT track you. That would not even be possible (think about how much data that would be). All it does is return traps in your area. Even when you report traps, the system cannot tell if you called it in via voice, entered it from the Web site, or pressed a button on your phone. Also hacking and subpoena-ing would be a waste of time, as all the data is nicely formatted and available on the site anyway. Pete, Trapster.com
Even if the system needed to track you (which it doesn't) it couldn't - think about how much data that would be. It just compares your lat/lng to traps in your area and returns them to you. That's it. The system does not differentiate between traps entered from the mobile, traps entered from the Web site, or traps entered from some other source (and other sources are coming). Say you are in Zimbabwe. You can enter a trap in Washington DC, and it still shows on the map (and in the DB) the same way as if you pressed a button on your mobile while at that GPS location in DC. Even if you are at that place and press the button, you can adjust the position of the trap when you get back home (drag and drop), which people often do (let's say they didn't press the button in time, or accidentally pressed a button). So the system doesn't store the sort of information you suggest, nor does it store enough information to derive your location at any particular time. Not because it's hiding anything - it simply doesn't need to. Pete.