"Women Worried About Their Addresses Being Traced from Photos Posted Online"

SNS and Communities Show Movement to Refrain from Posting 'Photos Around Home'
"Address Could Be Identified," "Need to Protect Personal Information" Raises Awareness
Advances in Photo Resolution and Internet Map Technology Make Location Identification Easier
Experts Say "Preventing Criminal Misuse in Advance Is Practically Difficult"
"All Users Must Be Careful in Public Internet Spaces Accessible to the General Public"

More and more internet users are reluctant to post photos taken near their homes using mobile phones on social networking services (SNS). This is due to concerns that their home addresses could be exposed through the photos. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] "I have many photos taken near my house on my account, what should I do?", "Is it possible to estimate my home address by looking at my photos?"

Recently, many posts from netizens expressing reluctance to upload photos taken near their residential areas have been appearing on social networking services (SNS) and online communities. With the advancement of cameras and various measurement technologies, it has become easier to identify locations by looking at the surrounding scenery in photos, raising concerns that photos taken near one's home, uploaded carelessly, could lead to exposure of personal information.

In particular, crimes such as stalking and home intrusion, which misuse location information identified on the internet, have occurred, causing significant anxiety among female netizens. Experts suggest that caution from all internet users is necessary to prevent such crimes.

Recently, a post titled "Do not upload your photos on public accounts" was posted on an online community mainly composed of female netizens.

The author emphasized, "Do not upload photos taken near your home, school, or workplace. If you have uploaded any, I recommend deleting them immediately. Someone can estimate your home location just by looking at the photos," and added, "Of course, it is wrong and strange for someone to dig into others' personal information, but since the atmosphere these days is very tense, it seems necessary to be cautious on your own. It's an unavoidable matter."

Recently, some netizens have urged people not to upload photos that may expose personal information on websites accessible to an unspecified large audience. / Photo by SNS Capture

Another netizen shared a 'tip' on how to take photos so that the address cannot be identified. He explained, "It is important to avoid specific structures or landmarks that can serve as reference points for the location," but also said, "The best way is not to upload photos at all on accounts that strangers can see."

Concerns about personal information exposure through photos posted on the internet are growing among women. This is because smartphone camera technology has improved, increasing photo resolution, and location estimation technologies such as internet maps have also advanced.

For example, photos taken with a mobile phone's Global Positioning System (GPS) turned on can have location information identified through detailed metadata. Searching this information on free internet maps can pinpoint the location in the photo. If a photo file taken near one's home is accidentally leaked to others, the residential address can be revealed.

There have even been cases where the home address was inferred by looking at the surrounding scenery reflected in the eyes of people in photos. In 2019 in Japan, a man identified a female idol singer's home by examining the scenery reflected in her eyes in a photo, then went to her home and attempted sexual assault. This man compared the scenery reflected in the eyes with street photos on websites one by one to confirm the address.

Concerns are growing that personal information such as home addresses exposed on the internet could be exploited for crimes like stalking and trespassing. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News

Given this situation, women are expressing feelings of anxiety. There are complaints about whether even internet spaces that guarantee anonymity must be used with tension. Some point out that the root cause of the problem lies in insufficient women's safety policies.

A female office worker A (27), living alone in Seoul, said, "It gives me chills to think that even photos uploaded online without much thought can be misused for crimes," and criticized, "In our society, women are not even allowed the 'freedom to let their guard down.'"

She added, "It is only a temporary measure to say that women alone should be careful in this situation," and argued, "The fundamental solution is to reduce crimes such as stalking and home intrusion."

Another female office worker B (28) also said, "Why should only women be careful? This trend might rather reinforce the prejudice that 'stalking or home intrusion crimes happen because women were not careful,'" and emphasized, "The priority should be to severely punish criminals and devise measures to protect women who are threatened even in their own homes."

Experts suggest that while it is important to quickly apprehend offenders when crimes occur, cautious internet use is necessary for crime prevention.

Professor Oh Yoonseong of Soonchunhyang University’s Department of Police Administration said, "It is practically difficult to block those who intend to misuse photos and videos posted on the internet, which can be seen by an unspecified number of people," and added, "However, efforts should be made to promptly arrest and punish offenders when actual crimes occur."

He continued, "From the perspective of crime prevention, everyone using public places should be cautious," and advised, "It is necessary to have an awareness to refrain from posting personal information or private details that could be judged harmful to oneself."