Pros and Cons of LBS

Location based service is one of the most important technological innovation in today’s world as it contributes a lot in bringing changes in society. But if we consider all the social, ethical, technological issues of its use then it has both positive and negative impacts for different user. Though on one hand it has strengthen the national and personal security but created another problem as far as personal privacy is concerned. Here, in the following paragraph we will discuss all those effects as a whole according to user requirements.

Commercial Use: Generally includes vehicle tracking and navigation. As far as its positive impacts are concerned, the use of LBS helps in better fleet management, improves safety by providing emergency assistance and saves time and money by indicating the right direction while traveling. However, in case of voluntary use as the information access is free, the user losses control over the external person who can access information without his/her consent thereby creating privacy problem. Again, it’s not always possible to provide emergency assistance to a person by just monitoring from such a far distance.

Legal & Personal Use: In case of law enforcement, which is mandatory including its uses by police and other security agencies for monitoring criminals, and paroles or other suspects thereby restricting them in committing further crime. This also helps in tracking minors and personal vehicle and increases individual security of society. But on the other hand it decreases individual autonomy, as the leak of private data is inevitable. Again monitoring someone’s movement all the time curtails his individual freedom and increases psychological stress of the person being monitored. Also it is not possible for security agencies to keep an eye on all criminals and so tracking someone from afar can’t necessarily prevent harm to another.

Whether it’s use as a commercial or personal purpose it really provides security to individuals as a whole. But the most important aspect is privacy issues and individual autonomy. Though to a large extent it ensures control over one’s own activities but any technological failure may bring the issue of safety risk. In a large perspective location based services has really created a revolution in communication field and making our day-to-day lives simpler and smoother.

Conclusion: Thus, as any technology has typically both positive and negative effects on individuals or society as a whole but its positive values can be considered as it creates wider opportunities for the society and individual. However, its pros and cons can vary from person to person according to their uses. So it’s upon the user to decide whether to use LBS or not by knowing both its advantages and disadvantages.