Taking pictures of unsuspecting people with camera
phones has become such a problem in parts of the
world that some countries have enacted various levels
of regulations. Saudi Arabia bans the sale of camera
phones outright. South Korea requires manufacturers
to make mobile devices that emit a beep whenever a
picture is taken. France has strict laws about publish-
ing digital images taken without consent.The risk to your privacy is compounded when an image is combined
with a caption or other descriptive text. You, your family, your
employer, your school, a friend, a sport or after-school club, or even the
local newspaper may sharing an image with text that contains too
much private information.
For example, in Figure 6-2,note the following:
➟ The house number is displayed. (Copying the photo
and enlarging it makes the number easily readable.)
➟ The photo includes the For Sale by Owner sign listing
the family phone number.
➟ The text under the photo indicates that the phone
number won’t change. The area code would help
locate the woman who posted this image, if her pro-
file on the photo-sharing site didn’t already provide
her city and state.
➟ The house implies a great deal about the family’s
financial status.
➟ The house is empty — the family has moved. It sits
alone on a hill. That’s a lot of information for anyone
wanting a place to party, do (or sell) drugs, steal, van-
dalize, or the like.
Spotting risks in photos takes some practice. Visit our
Web site, ilookbothways.com, to use interactive
skills builders that help you practice spotting informa-
tion exposure in images.
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