I just upgraded my cell phone—exciting, but a pain. I struggled with all those account numbers, PIN numbers, Apple ID…Yikes! Doesn't it seem like getting a new phone should be a whole lot easier than it is?
One thing jumped out at me—the intense interest the tech world exhibits in wanting to monitor my location. I'm leery and—increasingly—irritated by the insatiable appetites of Google, Apple, Samsung, and others—to know of my location. I get this feeling when installing (or reinstalling) an app. It's one thing for a map program to ask—but a bowling game? C’mon!
Observe the euphemistic label the industry chooses to use instead of GPS. They insist on calling it “Location Services.” As if someone is doing you and me a favor or service. But make no mistake. Tech companies see your phone as a satellite tracking device, for sure. And indeed, they are tracking.
Now I'm not exactly a conspiracy theorist. But something seems out of whack. They say the use of location services allows third parties to be much more selective in targeting the ads with which bombard us. And this is supposed to be a benefit?
When given a choice, my response is to uncheck the box for Location Services. Tech-savvy readers will counter that those companies can use other means to get your location. True. But it's not as accurate—or they wouldn't nearly bludgeon me into turning on my GPS….urr Location Services.
Only the most gullible believe tech companies have nothing but our best interests at heart in attempting to monitor our every move. It’s odd how few have grasped the fact that for the benefits we receive in using GPS (yes, I love Google Maps), we are at the same time trading away the simple dignity of our anonymity.
By contrast, we serve a benevolent God in heaven who not only knows our current location—but where we will be the next hour, the next month—and the next millennia. And unlike the big brother-ish companies clutching at our data, God has nothing but our best interests at heart.
The Psalmist asked, “Where can I go from your presence?” The reassuring answer from the God who is all-loving and all-present: Nowhere! The certainty that He knows our location at all times is a comfort and kindness in stark contrast to the data miners and marketers that haunt our phones!