AOL's Instant Message 'Tracking' Plug-In Concerns Police, Parents - Technology

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Some Concerned Predators Can Use Technology To Track Children

Mar. 27, 2007

A new plug-in that allows users of American Online's popular instant messaging service to track and find the location of their buddies with Wi-Fi positioning technology has police and parents concerned, according to a Local 6 report.

"Police have a warning for parents, that there is a new technology on the market that makes it easier for predators to track your kids," Local 6's Kimberly Houk said.

The AIM location plug-in, powered by Skyhook Wireless, allows users to set and share their current and future locations with their buddies, according to IT News Online.

The service tracks the location of the buddies by using the continuous wireless pulses emitted by all Wi-Fi transmitters and Wi-Fi-enabled computers.

Skyhook spent the past several years driving a fleet of 200 trucks up and down the streets of 2,500 cities across the U.S. and Canada pulling signals from wireless routers and tagging the GPS coordinates, Local 6 News reported.

The service pinpoints the exact location of computers being used to communicate online.

"By working with Skyhook on this next-generation AIM Location plug-in, we are expanding the social networking capabilities available to our AIM users. At any given time, AIM users can now see where their buddies are, map their location and quickly find out how far they are from each other so they can meet in person," said Marcien Jenckes, senior vice president, messaging & social media, AOL. "This new Skyhook-enabled plug-n will provide AIM users with a unique location-based experience."

However, police and parents are concerned about it, Local 6 reported.

"Most kids are chatting from their house already," Orange County sheriff's Deputy Kevin Stenger said. "There is no need for anyone to know where the house is at."

"We certainly discourage them from having any communication with friends that they don't know," parent Tom Sproat said. "We monitor that and just try to do our best."

The plug-in is available as a free download and adds a new grouping to AIM's buddy list window called "Near Me."