SignageWire

“Things are moving fast, but there are some significant hurdles for marketers trying to make location-based services a standard part of the mobile marketing mix,” says Mr. Gauntt. “An obvious challenge is to address both the real and imagined privacy concerns.”

In April of this year, CTIA, an international mobile industry body, published best-practice guidelines for location-based service applications. Two fundamental principles guide the document:

• User Notice: Location-based service providers should inform consumers as to how their location information will be used, disclosed and protected so users can make informed decisions about whether or not to use the service or authorize disclosure.
• User Consent: Once users have selected location-based services or authorized disclosure of their location information, they should have choices as to when or whether location information will be disclosed to third parties, along with the ability to revoke any such authorization.

Consumers fear being tracked—and having even minor activities recorded. Or, as Kevin Ho characterized the problem in his blog, each of us is reluctant to become a “human cookie.”