I’ve registered on the TripIt travel plan sharing site, but I haven’t posted any of my own travel plans.
I’m pretty comfortable with online transparency across social media networks, but this one gives me the creepies. Here’s why….
Way back when I was a kid, I read a book by a convicted thief entitled “Are You Safe From Burglars?”
I wouldn’t say it made me hyper-concerned about burglars stealing from my home, but since then I’ve always been rather careful about preparing my house before a trip so that it doesn’t look empty and inviting to thieves.
Deadbolt locks, lights on timers, suspending newspaper deliveries, yard service keeping things mowed. You know, the usual.
My concern with TripIt, and any other time that I broadcast my travel plans too specifically on Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. is that some smart person out there will say, “Sounds like a great time to go hit THAT house, since now I know that she won’t be in it.”
Of course, just because I’m gone doesn’t mean that some of my family isn’t still there, but why tempt Fate?
Yes, yes, I know that my plans on TripIt are only supposed to go to people I’ve allowed into my network, but does anyone really think that any online privacy or security set-up is that airtight?
Me, either.
It’s the nature of the digital beast. Assume no privacy, be reasonably cautious (and back up your data.)
Some might find it strange that I don’t worry at all about arranging get-togethers via Twitter with people I’ve never met in person (”tweet-ups”) and I don’t worry about the Booger Man showing up at such events and clocking me over the head, but I do worry about giving too much information to the Burglar Man/Woman.
Everyone has their personal firewall when it comes to Web disclosure, and I guess TripIt is mine.
Your thoughts? The comments section below is wide open for you….
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmm, you’ve given me something to think about. I haven’t used Tripit for long but might need to re-think.
I’m always careful on Twitter and Facebook to post about something after I’ve done it rather than before. I’m also vague about when I’m taking a trip, saying “in a couple of weeks” or “soon” rather than the actual dates. I’d never thought about Tripit letting every crook and robber know that I’m gone. Of course I only use it on Linkedin but I guess there are unscrupulous people on every social network.
I had used the Tripit application on my LinkedIn profile as a way for me to track my travels. When I learned that everyone in my network was receiving an update of my travels, I quickly stopped using the system.
I would like to use it for internal purposes of discovering how many miles I’ve logged. Any application suggestions?
@Donna - not trying to spread gloom and doom, and I use vague travel plans language online too as a basic tactic. Considering using TripIt announcements on LinkedIn - you may want to look at Nancy Brown’s comment.
@Nancy - Can’t help you with a mileage app; sorry. Ye Olde Excel Spreadsheet? lol Do appreciate the LinkedIn heads-up.
Thanks for bringing up the travel-detail-sharing question, Sheila.
I’ve been broadcasting my trip details to my connections on LinkedIn, like Donna, but recently started thinking about pulling back on how much detail I make available online.
@Nancy, it is possible to use Tripit to track your trips, including flight, hotel, and car reservations, without sharing access to your data. I like being able to forward my confirmation emails to Tripit so I can access them all from one place while I’m on the road.
Privacy and security are important concerns for everyone who uses online services, and we understand that travel plans can be very personal in nature, and might not be something you’d want to share with the world.
In our experience, there’s a good-sized group of people who just want the personal productivity benefits of TripIt (automatically organizing
confirmation emails into a nice itinerary that can be added to their calendar with a click, for instance) and who don’t care for any of the “social” stuff.
A lot of people like to see when their plans overlap with their friends or colleagues. For those people, TripIt’s Connections (or our LinkedIn application) are helpful tools. Your Connections on TripIt or LinkedIn can never see your travel details unless you specifically
share a trip plan with them. But connections can see the cities you are planning to visit on your trip (e.g., “New York”) and the dates you’ll be there. This allows us to offer “closeness alerts” for you and your Connections. Closeness alerts are especially helpful for sales folks, consultants, or any other outbound professionals whose business depends on meeting the right people at the right time.
Many people fall somewhere in between these two groups. This is why we give TripIt users the option to make any trip private. Private trips
can only be viewed by the traveler who creates the trip, and anyone with whom that traveler explicitly shares their trip. Connections you have on TripIt or LinkedIn don’t see anything about private trips.
Whether you’re more private and discreet about sharing your travel plans, or more open and gregarious, we try to make TripIt easy and useful.
If you have any input for other sharing or privacy controls you think we should take a look at, we’d love to hear your feedback. You can reach us at feedback@tripit.com.
Thanks!
Will Aldrich
VP of Product
TripIt
I agree! It “trips” me out! Won’t use it.
Hi Sheila.
Just read one of your responses in LinkedIn’s Q&A and thought I’d take a look at your article. Glad I did. Totally agree with it. When it comes to web disclosure, no information is bad, the right amount of information is good and too much information may be very very bad. One extra thought:
Using TripIt with online disclosure of my travel plans or current location is advertising that I’m not home and it makes me uneasy when I’m away. But thinking it may attract unwanted “guests” when I’m away but someone from my family is home really makes my skin crawl. It’s even worse. So a definite *NO* to TripIt open access information. If a burglar wants to find out if I’m home he/she will have to do some homework, I’m not going to make it that easy.
Cheers,
Carlos.
I appreciate the continuing thoughtful comments on this topic, including helpful feedback from TripIt itself (via Will Aldrich.) My mind hasn’t changed; I’m pretty much in agreement with Carlos’ comment. It’s a worthy discussion.
Hello,
You may find our service at http://www.poseeq.com meeting your privacy requirements.
We convert itineraries to calendar appointments.
Our philosophy at Poseeq has been to provide our users the same kind of privacy that we would ourselves want out of an online service provider.
Thank you.
Ken.
Sheila,
As soon as I saw the Tripit service my first reaction was “wow - what a fantastic research tool for burglars!”
Anything that publishes travel details - including outbound and return flight information - is a recipe for disaster. Many people I know have at least one ‘open networker’ among their LinkedIn connections and how much do they know about that person and his or her motivations for using the system?
It’s rather like the problem with ‘out of office’ replies on email. It never ceases to amaze me how many people advertise the fact that they are going on holiday to anyone who sends them an email - regardless of whether that is a close colleague or someone who indiscriminately spams tens of thousands of mailboxes.
Hi Tim,
Thanks very much for your input. Yes, I just had the same thought the other day when I turned on my Out of Office to speak at a conference. “Wow, I’m broadcasting that I’m away. Maybe there’s a problem with that.” I don’t have a good answer because somehow I do want to let people know when I’ll be tied up, but still….