There are many smart applications for geo fencing when it comes to mobile and computer security. Android 5.0, for example, has a useful feature where you can disable device locking if you are within range of a “home” Wi-Fi node: No longer constantly unlocking your phone when you are just sitting on your couch playing with it during a commercial break. You can also set up miniature geofences around your computer that automatically locks your computer when your phone (and the associated Bluetooth radio) moves away from the computer. We detail what is and how does geo fencing works.
If you have a busy family that you want to keep track of (like getting alerts when your child comes home from school and forgetting to call you), there are useful geofence-based solutions like the aforementioned Life360 app, available for iOS and Android, which make it dead simple. to set up zones with appropriate notifications. The Apple Find My Friends app for iOS 8.0+, seen above, offers similar functionality with the ability to check the location and set location-aware alerts. While still foreign to many, geofencing is a natural extension of our desire for our devices to do more (and to do more automatically) and to reduce the friction that interacts with our environment. As devices become more and more sophisticated and more elements of our homes, vehicles, and workplaces enter the stabilization of the ever-evolving “Internet of things”, expect to see geofencing applied to more devices and environments.
This increased integration can produce all kinds of novelties such as workstations that shut off when their owners leave for the building, coffee pots that light up in the morning when the first coffee drinkers arrive, attic fans that spin to life to suck in the cool night air as you drive home, garage doors that open automatically when you bend a corner, and all kinds of small changes that make the computer worry about the trivial parts while we focus on the fancier things than wondering if we locked the back door properly.