Website accesses your social media site

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - There's a new social media aggregator website available now called Geofeedia.  The site gives it's users access to multiple social media posts in one centralized location.  

Some people think all that access is dangerous.  “They could just pull up all your tweets. No matter where we are?” said Cheri Patterson of Lockport. “No I don’t like that”.

Others, like Buffalo attorney Glenn Murray, believe it’s nothing more than a sign of the times. “It's a good example of a phenomenon that means you have no privacy with anything that's posted on the internet,” Murray said.

If someone has access to Geofeedia they can begin by searching any location in the world. The website shows search results including posts from Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Picasa or Flikr.  Once a user clicks on a post, they will instantly discover what time it was created and a map displays to show you where it was posted from.

The creators of the website said they designed the site to help others stay in touch with what's going on globally on social media.  “We give the opportunity for consumers and citizens to voice their opinions in more powerful ways while they’re at a location,” said Phil Harris, the CEO of Geofeedia.

The website only displays information that people who chosen to share by posting it publicly on the internet.

“People want to share. This is the new generation. This is a phenomenon” said Harris.

Students News 4 spoke with said they share just about everything on social media. “This morning on my way to school I posted a picture of what I was listening to. I did another post saying I'm about to go to school,” said Jasmine Moore of Buffalo.

“I tweet about anything and everything that's on my mind. I don't know, I just love to tweet. It's something like a personal let-out. If you feel some type of way you just get on Twitter and say it. You just tweet,” said Patterson.

The only way for your post not to be indexed by Geofeedia is to turn off the geotag or location feature on your electronic device or web programs.

Here’s how you can turn off a geotag on Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, Picasa and YouTube:

Twitter – turn off the geotag by turning off the tweet locator in Settings on Twitter.com or on the Twitter app for smartphones or tablets.

Flickr – log into Settings and click on the “Privacy and Permissions” tab. At the bottom of the page under “Default for New Uploads” find the section that says  "Import EXIF Location Data" and make sure it says "No". If you say no you ensure the GPS data from your photo won’t be attached when you post on Flickr.

Instagram – turn off the geotag feature within the Settings menu.

Picasa – when posting a photo from your smartphone make sure the geotag is turned off in the Settings.  When using the Picasa app, by default it does not include your geotag. If you want it included you click the Geotag button and insert a locator.

YouTube – By default your video doesn’t have a locator. If you want to put one you can go you’re your settings and insert it.