And see for example http://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=43857#p43857

I have updated the Privacy issues page on the Wiki to reflect the changes in the last version of the app remving the Ghost option. So you may wish to consider an earlier version when thinking of the implications. Or look at this differences page:
http://www.waze.com/wiki/index.php?titl ... oldid=5199

I don't think this thread us too old until we get a response from support.

In response to the suggestion that ghost mode helps stalkers. Nice thought but completely flawed.

1. If you are worried about stalkers you are always better to ghost yourself rather than monitor
2. Monitor won't show you people who are
A) using live map
B) people out of your map area - I can stalk without being near
C) people who modify the client software
D) people who generate fake gps data who hide their own location

In shirt you can't use the client to monitor who us watching you.

fvwazing wrote:I think this idea is way too good to rust away in a thread

More importantly in my opinion, this was a feature deliberately removed by Waze. So perhaps that makes it rather a special case for the advocacy of the reinstatement of at least an equivalent feature.

And you may not be worried about stalkers, but I think you should be worried about burglaries. If I was that way inclined, I'd certainly use Waze as one of my tools. We already know that Facebook Locations,Foursquare and Twitter have been used to select targets.

It's an issue with all geolocation softwatre. But Waze does not want to become known as "oh, that's the app that tells the thieves when you have driven away on holiday....hur hur hur...won't be buying that one....hur hur hur". The risk of bad publicity from one person (even when they're wrong - I got Waze and then I got robbbed - is too high. IMO.

I've been away for the past week so I hope no one thinks this thread it too old to bring up, but I had one thought in SUPPORT of removing the ghost option:

With no way to hide your location, yes, people can see where you are, BUT you can also see where THEY are.

With a ghost option a stalker could follow you around and you'd have no idea unless you saw them physically tailing you. And yes I know two minute updates on the map aren't the greatest way to follow someone, but I am sure it is possible especially over multiple days for a repeated route in the case of a true stalking.

And wasn't there some concern at some point of law enforcement running Waze in ghost mode just sitting on the highway waiting for someone to come past? (Again, 2 minute updates don't make this very effective.)

I personally have no fear of stalkers or the like. I also knowingly accept the loss of "privacy" I willingly enter into while using a collaborative project such as this. I just remember other users bringing up their concerns, however exaggerated, and wanted to share them since I was reading the atmosphere of this thread as no one could possibly imagine a case where anyone would not want the ghost option.

Good ideas. I see all those options very usable.

--
Cougar