Foursquare and Loopt have put location-based social networks on the map, and have potentially created a viable business model as well. Now there’s a new kid on the block, called Stalqer, which best described as a Foursquare on steroids. The iPhone app, which will be free, should hit the app store in the next few hours.
In theory, Stalqer is very similar to Foursquare in that it tracks your and your friends’ locations and broadcasts this information via the application and through push notifications. But one of the key differentiators is the fact that Stalqer updates the location in the background, which Foursquare, and most other apps, don’t do at the moment. This is because the device does not allow third party apps to run in the background. But Stalqer has found a way to record your location without you having to actually open up the application. So how does Stalqer do it?
The app sets up an email account which operates in the background, and collects large amount of data out of the POP or IMAP handshake relevant to location, primarily via the IP address. Stalqer’s founder Mick Johnson also tells me that the app contains iPhone configuration profiles that make it easy to install an email account pointing to Stalqer’s servers on the user’s iPhone. So when the phone checks for mail, the app gets a location point, which Johnson says happens on average, every 15 minutes.
Loopt has also found a work-around the whole background update issue by partnering with other companies in the mobile industry for an “Always-On Location Service (which costs users $3.99 per month).
In addition to background functionality, Stalqer lets you import your Facebook friends, via Facebook Connect, to the app. If your friends have made their general location public via Facebook, The app then syncs your friends with your iPhone contacts and will then show you where your friends are. So, Stalqer will basically pull any public information about your friend (i.e. what city they live in) and show where the friends is on your application, if if they haven’t downloaded the app. At the moment, you cannot see anyone on Stalqer who is not your friend on Facebook.
You can see your friends’ locations via a list format and on a detailed, high quality map. Similar to FourSquare, you can check into listed locations rather then just the app recording your location via an IP address. Stalqer has close to a half million bars and restaurants listed in the U.S and you can add locations as well. Stalqer will steadily add non-U.S. locations in the future. The app is actually missing one of the key gaming aspects of FourSquare—the ability to collect badges or mayorships. Since the app operates in conjunction with an email account and your address book, it allows you to conduct a conversation with your Stalqer friends within the app. The app also features an augmented reality view of your friends’ locations. And while Slaqer is only available for the iPhone, Johnson is hoping to roll out versions for the Blackberry and Android in the future.
So for me, the key issue with this app is privacy. The background location technology is certainly innovative but I really feel strange about Facebook friends knowing where I am at all times, even if I have not started up the app on my phone. Privacy has been an issue with Foursquare and I suspect that it will become an issue for Stalqer.
But Johnson says that Stalqer has very powerful security settings that let you specify whether you want your location broadcasted and you can also indicate specific friends who can see your check-ins. Plus you can make sure the app only shows your greater surround area (i.e. San Francisco) vs. your exact location within the city. And you can make customer lists with close family and friends who can see your detailed whereabouts.
At the moment, Stalqer isn’t monetizing the app because Johnson is waiting to see if the app will gain popularity. And Johnson adds that Stalqer is aimed towards a younger crowd (which is apparent from it’s demo video), who may not be as concerned with the privacy issues.
Stalqer seems to be focused exclusively on broadcasting background location and tapping into your social graph via Facebook whereas Foursquare’s new app includes gaming, Twitter integration and a few more bells and whistles. But Foursquare is addictive and Stalqer could be too, if you really want to stalk your Facebook friends. Of course, Facebook is rumored to be launching their own location based technologies, so it should be interesting to see how that effects Stalqer.
That is creepy. I love location based services. I’ll give it a try!
That’s brilliant. But do people really configure their iPhones to connect to Wifi networks without asking first? Isn’t that a bigger security concern than broadcasting location info?
I’m an advisor to Stalker – the killer feature here is Tracking your friends even if they don’t use the app, and background tracking on the Iphone – amazing stuff!
Go Stalqer Team!
Wow, that IS f—ed up.
nice – but “learning” curve might be a little to steep
I don’t really want people to know where I am at all times. Am I alone in this?
I would not have any cell phone turned on and in your pocket if this was the case.
Tom, following your logic, he should also wear an invisibility cloak everywhere he goes. His point is, these apps make it very trivial for a lot of people/friends to know where you are at all times.
And Will, I am slightly uncomfortable with this too, but who knows, may change my mind once I use these apps more.
This is really a creepy thing. I love location based social networks. Let me try it. Thanks for sharing!
As Leena said, who sees what is totally defined by you.
But what’s your response to the accuracy of IP? I already know all my friends are in Boston – I just font know where. How does this make it easier?
Once you’ve registered on stalqer, the accuracy gets a lot tighter. The thing is this is the closest that anyone has been able to get with the iphone.
The other compelling thing here is that I don’t need to build my own social network, it just hooks into facebook.
I hate the way my friends location on foursquare is always 2 days old.
The E-mail trick to get around the multitasking limitation was clever as hell. These guys have some skills.
You know, since they are already installing an email account, they could just get a MobileMe account, then provision the account on every vic…user’s device as part of the app install. Then use Apple’s “Find My iPhone” feature to track all the iPhones. I have not yet found the limit for the number of iPhones/iTouches that can be tracked per MobileMe account (it’s more than 4).
Awesome guys.. well done – this is gonna be on the front of my iPhone home page.
Great to see you guys launch. All the best with Apple, Mick.
As Apple is able to locate your iPhone when it is lost, the iPhone apparently is already broadcasting your location, if you enable findMyiPhone… Would there be some way to use that info? Then you have location-info in the background…
AT&T cellular IP reveals users’ location? As I understand, iPhones get NAT IP (10.x.x.x) in AT&T 3G networks, and outgoing IP shows the gateway location (at least some located in Los Angeles). From the article, the idea is interesting. But does it mean that it is possible for Stalqer to collect enough data to map AT&T NAT IP to 3G cell ID for location? I though AT&T would randomly assign NAT IP for users’ privacy.
Exactly. IP-based geopositioning is not going to give a compelling friend-finder (stalker) experience. On cell (mobile) networks the IPs cannot be related to a specific tower. On ISPs most IP addresses are (in)accurate to metro if not county level. For example here in Dublin, Ireland, anybody on the Eircom Broadband network will be geo-positioned to Mespil Road, Dublin 4… which is 5 miles from my current position.
Brilliant guys. I love the idea of serendipitously bumping into friends without having to check in like foursquare. i’ve got no plans on friday its hitting 5 oclock can just check out who might feel like a beer and is close by… love it. Will it work internationally? can you set up an alert that an ex might be in the vicinity so you can choose a different bar
Tip of the hat on creative way of solving location feeds from the iPhone. Now if Apple could please support FireEagle or implement something like it.
Yes, this is creepy. Perhaps the police should track who’s downloading the app. Possible restraining orders, I see. Or maybe their target market are papz?
Classic case of misuse of Location based services.
In the 50’s employers used to ban phone calls from offices because they couldn’t track how many people were making personal phone calls.
Come on… we can’t master a technology without trying it and learning what kinds of things need to be improved. The security settings built into stalqer are already pretty sensible. If you’re to check it out, you’ll find that you can pretty sensibly only let the people you want know exactly where you are.
Patrick.
Though from a biased source, Gowalla’s article entitled “Location Without Context is Dead” nails why this type of app goes overboard, apart from any privacy issues: http://gowalla....ontext-is-dead/
Hmmm…not sure about this…getting a little too close…
No future here. Zero.
Um… yeah. I see this app being dead in approximately 3 months.
AAAAH!!!! Fantastiiic!! NOW she’s miiine! She will never get away from me! hahahaahah! I will always know where she is…. sooner or later she’ll be completely alone….. and I’ll be there…… heehehehehehe!!!
While that seems neat technologically, one of the reasons that Foursquare works is that users choose to tell people where they are. It has an inherent privacy system.
Sure it’s cool to be tracked and i can think of reasons where that’s desired but for a social system like foursquare or loopt, this doesn’t work. I don’t think it’s fair to compare them.
Apps that automatically update location in the background miss the mark on understanding normal social behavior.
The idea behind Foursquare is that you only broadcast in a situation where it would be socially appropriate. It elegantly gets around the most common objection: “I don’t want people to always know where I am”
Your average (not a tech geek) 22 year old girl is not going to broadcast her location at all times.
Are you crazy???
I definitely DON’T WANT my friends, family, and colleagues to know where I am all the time! Who could want this?
OH MY GOSH!!!?!?!!
Calm down.. If you don’t want it tracking you, don’t install it. Simple as that.
I guess I’m confused. You think it’s “creepy” for people to know where you are, but if you don’t download the app, KNOWING what the app does, then there’s nothing to be “creeped” about.
Where’s the common sense here. If you don’t like it, don’t download it. Pretty simple.
That’s amazing! These guys are creative. If they reliable in IP address then the locations will not be very accurate but still a very good scheme.
For those that have privacy concerns, I’m sure they’ll have options to it off so it stops showing your locations.
Kevin
iPhone SE – http://seego.com
So…. is Apple now reconsidering allowing this app? I still don’t see it in the AppStore.
don’t see how they can reliably track your location based on the gateway IP.
Also, the paid loopt app can update your information in the background, and is more reliable as it knows your serving tower, and can translate to lat/long.
there is simpler apps is been test for iphone in montreal. should on apps store soon!
If you’re concerned about the privacy issues, then perhaps the name “Stalqer”, might give you a cue to stay far away from this app. Otherwise, jump in the deep end have a try of the privacy settings.
http://www.fondoo.org does the same…
This has got to be the craziest thing i’ve ever seem! NO One needs to know my every move !
Nothing new in the concept or in the “non-for-profit” state of mind. You can find a list of more than 100 companies doing the same in this link http://bdnooz.c...tworking-links/
Ludicrous.
This is a publicity stunt, not a real app. There’s only a vague, partially-usable way of tracking real users. There’s no reasonable way at all of tracking non-users. The telltale is Mick Johnson saying that ‘at least it’s going to be interesting’. Translation: we have no idea how to do it and we’re hoping no-one notices.
They’re aspiring to ‘creepy’. It’s fake controversy. ‘Unintentionally humorous’ is more like it.
We should be skeptical of these services’ ability to scale to the mass market. Most people simply don’t want their network to know where they are.
http://seedchan...the-rest-of-us/
I typically fall into the “early adopter” category, but I think I’m as connected as I need to be right now.