Security experts have expressed concern over a controversial web site that publishes Twitter users home addresses online.
WeKnowYourHouse.com uses location information it says many people unwittingly transmit every time they send a tweet. It then matches this to their home address, even providing a Google Street View image of their home in some cases.
According to The Daily Mail, the creators of the website said they are providing a service by alerting users to the security risk of Twitter. Describe the site as ‘an experiment’, they also said that similar privacy issues exist with other services such as FourSquare and Google’s Latitude.
According to the paper, the site said that it deletes user’s data after an hour, and also offers user an option to opt out of the site. Security experts have described the site as ‘scary’ as it displays a constantly rolling list of usernames and addresses.
“The site promises that it only keeps the last hour of data, and then fully deletes it, but it’s scary to see how much information can be compiled against someone so quickly, using information that is freely available,” the paper quoted said Anna Brading of security firm Sophos, as saying.
The paper also quoted Nick Pickles, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch , as saying that the site could actually help users by drawing attention to the location information.
“The simple truth is that mobile phones are tracking devices that let us make calls. Many people are sharing their location with a whole range of services without realising just how seriously they are compromising their privacy,” he said.
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