The fashion fan & the satellite data
How a single picture can teach you about privacy AND make you better at research
Hello, fellow lovers of digital detective stories and other people who like to have fun! I was very excited to post the following photo on Twitter, because it can teach several lessons about online safety and online research at once. Before I tell you more about that, here’s the photo and the discussion it generated:
Now, I believe the first person to correctly geolocate me (i.e., find my precise location — for those of you who are new to the term) did it in about 20 minutes or so:
If you’re new to the topic of geolocation, you might find this surprising and even a little creepy. Thankfully, keernokner also helpfully provided their methods. They simply found an older, but still recent tweet that gave them a good idea of where to look:
They also made this very excellent point:
Yep! A normal person who’s familiar with the methods of geolocation can do this exercise quickly. Now imagine someone who’s familiar with the methods and has an unhealthy interest in you.
By pointing this out, I’m not trying to scare you. What I am trying to do is show you how the information you post — be it an innocent tweet or a cute photo — can be cross-referenced by someone with too much time on their hands. It’s a good thing to be aware of.
I also really appreciated the discussion about my clothes:
Yep, Lululemon doesn’t make those leggings anymore. I have several pairs in this style and by browsing my photos, you may get the sense that I’m very much into vintage fashion. As I’ve discussed previously in some detail, this could very well be useful information to someone unpleasant.
I think this response nicely illustrates my point too:
I didn’t think it was “toxic” or “male chauvinist,” though. A lot of people are into fashion, men and women alike. It therefore makes sense to look for a mall in the area if you want to find me.
Here’s a fun fact, actually: Last year, someone in that same mall recognized me from social media and approached me. While I was crying. In Nordstrom.
Nothing horrible occurred (well, besides the fact that I was crying in a Nordstrom, and for an extremely stupid reason too, as I found out just a few days later) but it was a startling reminder of how we’re never really as anonymous as we think — and that the whole D.C. metro area is basically one big village where everyone knows everyone else’s business.
Speaking of the mall, though. There is a very useful detail in this picture that I have since used to help people get a handle on geolocation in places where Google Street View is not readily available. Check it out:
Now, please check out the satellite view:
See that telltale crescent shape? A lot of times, when people are stumped in their geolocation efforts, a prominent and fairly unusual feature like this will help them zero in on a spot. I did something similar recently with a fascinating mystery surrounding a criminal act in a location I’m not at liberty to disclose, and it reminded me of how useless it is to lie about location in this day and age.
So, if you want to learn more about geolocation, it’s helpful to start small. Start with a familiar area, look at the satellite imagery, and see if you can read it, like I did above.
It’s a good skill to have, especially when you consider how many creepy people already know how to do it.
The world is changing, and we know more about each other than ever. This can be both a good and bad thing. It’s my personal mission to have the good outweigh the bad — this is why I started this newsletter, and this is why I’m absolutely thrilled that you are reading this. Thank you. And stay tuned for more.
Have a digital mystery you’d potentially like to solve? E-mail me for my rates at nvantonova [at] gmail (dot) com. If you learned something new today and are not yet subscribed, please consider a $5 a month subscription. A little can go a long way! ❤️