Smartphone Users don't Mind Sharing Their Location for Safety Reasons

It seems that even in this day of privacy concerns that adults are still relatively comfortable with sharing their location, particularly for safety. That’s what the findings of a survey of some 1,100+ smartphone users has shown.

I suppose I can relate to that even when I look at my own patterns of usage. For example, a couple of years ago I would frequently “checkin” via foursquare to many locations, the primary reason was to try and get a reward of some kind. Today the rewards are all but gone, however, I do still periodically checkin to venues but when I do so it’s generally a nudge of forms, with a primary purpose of subtly letting some people know where I am – this is really handy when I’m on the road for business. Rather than trying to place a call, I can simply drop a checking and the family will know that I’m safe and sound at my destination. I’ve also been known to geotag a photo to locate my parked car or to leave some kind of a bread crumbs trail for various reasons.

The survey, conducted by VeraQuest had other interesting findings, including:

• 60% of smartphone users report that they use at least one location sharing app
• 36% use 2 or more
• 41% of adults say they are more willing to share their location today versus five years ago
• 87% of teens and 73% of adults say they feel safer knowing that their family is aware of their location
• 39% of teens and 42% of adults say they feel safer knowing that friends are aware of their location
• 46% of adults and 47% of teens say they feel more connected to others when they share their location through a location sharing app