Geotags: Will the photos you post online give away your location?

I am a GPS addict when it comes to maps and driving directions. Perhaps it is because I'm directionally dyslexic. However, when I post photos online, I don't want my iPhone's "location services" to geotag my photos and give away personal information. In a nutshell, photo geotags store location-based data in the form of latitude and longitude. Smartphones love creating geotags--and you probably never noticed this feature. 

According to an article by Kate Murphy in San Jose Mercury News

When Adam Savage, host of the popular science program "MythBusters," posted a picture on Twitter of his automobile parked in front of his house, he let his fans know much more than that he drove a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Embedded in the image was a geotag, a bit of data providing the longitude and latitude of where the photo was taken. Hence, he revealed exactly where he lived. And since the accompanying text was "Now it's off to work," potential thieves knew he would not be at home.

via www.mercurynews.com

You can disable photo geotagging. On the website I Can Stalk U, go to the heading "How do I disable this" to find detailed instructions for disabling geotagging photos on your iPhone (iOS 4.x and iOS 3.x), Palm WebOS, or Google Android.