Mobile phone tracking device launched in UK

A mobile phone tracking device which allows friends and family to find out where you are is being launched in Britain on Tuesday.

The technology delivers a map to the inquirer’s mobile phone, giving the location to the nearest 100 metres.

But those behind the idea insisted that such a service can only work if the person being sought gives permission to be found.

And if someone has already agreed to be tracked, they have then option to be made “invisible” for as long as they want.

Users will be able to register on the Social Network Integrated Friend Finder (SNIFF) via social networking sites Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, as well as online, and each searching text will cost 50 pence.

The service provider, American-based company Useful Networks, hopes hundreds of thousands of people will sign up.

It has been running in Scandinavia for several months and each registered person has an average of five to seven people they track.

American CEO Brian Levin said: “You are fully in control of who can track you and when, you can go invisible any time - that is paramount.

“This service is for people you have a trusted relationship with - people you give your car keys or the keys to your house.

“The most asked question on mobile phones is 'where are you?’ and there are a lot of cases where you don’t want to answer your phone because it is too loud or have the hassle of texting.

“The value is being able to answer automatically, but it is not going to replace calling or texting.”

In Sweden, where one million people use Facebook, 100,000 people have signed up to Sniff in the last six months.

With an estimated 8.5 million people using Facebook in the UK - 2.2 million in London alone - Mr Levin said he expected many more people to use the service.

“We expect there will be a good pick up, especially with the crazy Facebook usage in the UK,” he said. “I have travelled the planet and you guys are number one on Facebook, followed by Canada.”

source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/