Apple to add variable precision location sharing to Find My Friends app?
Privacy for Apple's Find My Friends app may be getting a face-lift, adding new features to customize how much detail your friends can see.
According to a patent application filed by Apple (found by AppleInsider), the Find My Friends app for iOS devices may soon be getting new features that allow users to create custom settings for the amount of information friends can find about their location by adjusting the precision of the GPS locator.
Find My Friends was launched alongside the iPhone 4S in October and features the ability for users to share their location with friends and family who they approve. While the feature is a great solution for many, some prefer a little more privacy control.
Enter the "Variable Precision Location Sharing" patent application.
Say you are a parent and you want to be able to find your kids when they are out and about (and probably late coming home). You'll want to know exactly where they are and that's what the Find My Friends app does currently. With variable precision location sharing, users can set the degree to which their friends can zoom in on their location.
Think of it like Google Maps. You can set certain friends to only get the city view, the neighborhood view, or, for your closest friends or relatives, your exact GPS location. And speaking of Google, the new Find My Friends functionality could add groups (similar to Google+ "Circles") to apply precision settings to.
Do you use Find My Friends now? Would you want to be able to control the variable precision of the Find My Friends app? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!