Google is announcing an update to its Latitude service, which will allow users to see not just where they are at the moment, but where they have been in the past. Google Latitude allows users to share their location with their friends, from either a computer or supported mobile devices.
According to articles by Techspot and Techradar, the new update will allow users to see how long they have spent in a particular area, and even replay their previous journeys with the use of Google Earth or Google Maps, when used with Google Location History. Those concerned about privacy will be pleased to hear it is switched off by default, and any data stored is not shared with friends. And, of course, all data can be deleted should the user wish to.
Google has also made its Location alerts smarter, requiring that users enable Location History in order to use it. By doing this, Google Latitude only alerts you when friends are nearby if they are in a location they would not normally be in. It does, however, take Latitude several days to build up a profile of the user.
As stated in their blog post, Google sees many uses of the new update. Not only does it allow people to track back where they have been, but if, for instance, the user had seen something on their journey that they couldn't remember later on, they could use Google Maps or Google Earth to check out what it was they saw on their journey. You can enable the new features by logging in here, although you do have to be an existing user to do so.
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