Gmail Now Add your Location to your Signature

[Noels]

Google has just added a new feature in Gmail, the outcome of Gmail Labs, a laboratory of ideas for the firm. This solution simply add your location estimated in the signature of your emails. All Gmail accounts are not yet filled, but this option will attempt to guess your position based on your IP address with all the hazards that may be based on such technology. To activate it, just go in the settings of their account and check the appropriate box below the signature of your mail.

Localization is a hot topic in Google since the company launched a few days Latitude. The feature allows to determine the position of appliances and mobile phones to communicate to his close automatically. The service works by using primarily the chip or GPS antennas GSM default (triangulation) via Wi-Fi active. The option can be useful for concerned parents or spouses ... suspicious.

To try it, turn on Location in Signature from the Labs tab under Settings, then go to your signature preferences and check the box next to "Append your location to the signature."

It'll use your public IP address to determine your location, so it may not always be that accurate. For example, if you're at Heathrow airport, IP detection may put you in Germany. If you want more accurate location detection, make sure your browser has a version of Gears that supports the location module. That way, Gears can make use of wi-fi access point signals to recognize that you're actually in London.

You'll always be able to disable the option or just delete your location from specific emails whenever you want

[Uriah]

More seriously google offers a nice feature for those who want to activate it with a party against the targeted advertising is very soon. but What does that mean? Location by IP, this is not new and even less reliable. But apparently you do not look where you put your feet before using the Internet? If this disturbs you, stop the Internet, has no phone and no longer use that cash.

[Stefan09]

I does not see anything new here When sending a mail from a client installed on his post, the IP is transmitted in the headers. A traceroute to simply mimic the function and return the location of the person.

[WarHammer]

It seems to me that Google Adsense ads are targeted geographically long. But for the moment is the IP that is used with the approximations that inevitably leads.

Gmail This option is also intended to be implemented on mobile versions of Gmail, it would probably a more accurate geolocation (GPS, 3G, WIFI - if properly configured). Who says location finer said increased value of targeting consumers. This is not necessarily an evil in itself.

Apart from that I do not see the practical value of such a feature. If one wants to communicate its location in the mail, it is clearly in the body text, not signature. If you do not want to mention, you will not need this feature I see a little more geek stuff / connected without obvious practical interest, but a potential in it

[Uriah]

I does not see anything new here When sending a mail from a client installed on his post, the IP is transmitted in the headers. A traceroute to simply mimic the function and return the location of the person.

Isolation that is not much (whatever) but we must take all this in a more holistic view. we add a dash of geolocation via laptops, monitoring what you do on the net, by a few cameras here and there, active surveillance of the net etc etc. you can call me a paranoid but it still feels too good. of course that we can trace almost everything on the net but this is provided it must be accessible to everyone outside any legal framework? privacy and in fact on what? it seems to me that I have the most stringent law to send a mail without the receiver knows where it come from. This is not necessarily the problem. proper use of a traceroute is not known to everyone and accessible to anyone. there is a feature that everyone can use.