Have you ever wanted to know where your friend was? While you could just contact them and find out where they are, one alternative option would be to track the user's smartphone.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark office recently granted Apple the right to a patent called "Sharing location information among devices," which contains information about how one could visually represent the path another person who is using a smartphone takes to get around, according to CNET.
Such technology could come in handy when a friend is going on a hike or trip and wants you to know where they are, CNET reported.
"That person would enable a feature on a mobile device to allow you to see and track in real time the path being taken on your own mobile device or computer. On the flip side, you could also share your route so the two of you can stay abreast of each other's ongoing location."
The feature would be different than Apple's Find My Friends feature, which lets users track a particular iPhone or iPad to determine their location. However, that app can only tell you the subject's most recent location and wouldn't let you access real-time information about a subject's location.
The new patent describes devices that would let users track the other person in real time via their GPS signature. However, the users would still use a mixture of Wi-Fi and cellular networks for tracking. While technology like this does give some reason to question whether it would infringe on one's right to privacy, it appears that both the tracker and the trackee would have to consent to the tracking in order for the technology to activate.
The feature would also enable a mirror mode so that users will be able to see what the other person is seeing on their device.
Apple argues in its patent that such technology could be useful for tracking not only humans, but also smaller animals or robots.
