In the next three articles we will examine a topic that is hot in today’s world of tracing: “Geotagging” from social media photograph postings.
Very few tracers actually understand the process clearly enough to make full use of it; and I am often asked the question, “Do Geotagging posted photographs on social media sites really give the exact location the photograph was taken?”
I usually answer by comparing Geotagging to when someone asked me if an old 1947 Jeep I once owned ran; “Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.” The Geotagging process has many variables. To have success the tracer must understand all of these variables and how they affect the final result.
In 2010, Adam Savage of MythBusters took a photograph of his vehicle using his smartphone and posted it to his Twitter account with the phrase, “off to work.” Images taken by a smartphone contain metadata indicating the time and exact location the photo was taken. Savage unknowingly revealed not only his home location but the vehicle he drove and the time he left his house for work. This was a classic example of geotagging in its purest form.
In today’s world, technological advancements include enhanced GPS capabilities, smartphones with built in GPS applications and easy access to Wi-Fi systems. Privacy and security is not what it used to be and the proper use of this advanced communication technology will provide another tool in the professional tracer’s tool chest.
If the tracer is going to use this tool to the limits of its effectiveness, it is imperative they have a clear understanding of exactly how the technology does and does not work. Let’s begin this missive with four crucial definitions.
Geotagging or Geocoding
Geotagging or geocoding is the process of adding geographical identification and time parameters to photographs, video, websites and SMS messages. This technology adds a ten digit grid coordinate to anything you post to the Internet and automatically embeds in the postings, using JPEG formats, geographical and time information which may be read by viewers. Geotags not only provide geographic location but also may show the name of the posting party, names of others in the photograph, titles, descriptions, comments, date and time, and the equipment used to capture the photograph such as an iPhone, Android, or camera.
Geolocation
Geolocation is the real-world geographic location based on longitude and latitude coordinates of an Internet connected computer, mobile device or website visitor.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
A GPS is a navigation system utilizing satellites and computers to determine latitude and longitude of a receiver on earth by computing the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the target receiver.
Geographic Information System (GIS)
A GIS is any type of system that enables the user to capture, store, analyze, manage and present selected data linked to a geographical location.
This technology has been developed for numerous uses such as market research, authentication of location information, navigation and behavioral patterns. It is used in any market that requires the tracking of goods or vehicles. In the past few years it has worked its way into the tracing environment for locating people.
Before you start jumping up and down thinking you have found the “golden bullet” for locating people, let me throw a little rain on your parade. You will find when you become proficient using the geotagging process only a small portion of social media postings are in fact geotagged. A majority of today’s users are very computer knowledgeable and realize when sharing content online they give up control of their data. Many have decided to turn the GPS feature completely off or limit the applications. There are numerous applications available such as www.pixelgarde.com which allows the user to make the decision of what data they desire to share.
There are numerous sites where photos and videos and other postings are stored. Tracers I have spoken with who use this technology are finding new sites each day. Many tracers fail because they do not have a full knowledge of these various sites; not just Facebook and Twitter but the history and current status of emerging sites such as Gowalla, Brightkite, and Loopt. Sites can be found and followed at www.crunchbase.com by inserting the name of the site in the search box or adding the site name to the end of the web address. For example: www.crunchbase.com/ organization/gowalla. In the next installment we will explore these various sites and learn exactly what tools we need to extract and view the geotag data.
Until then, good luck and good hunting!
Ron Brown is a member of the National Association of Fraud Investigators and the author of “MANHUNT: The Book.” Contact him at