Do you have a smart phone? Upon arriving at a great boondocking campsite do you enjoy posting pictures of your new found paradise online for your family and friends to view? Are you aware you may have just given away the location of your secret campsite to thousands of other campers? Worse yet, you may have just supplied a criminal with the exact position of their next crime spree. Encoded within the picture you send are the coordinates of where it was taken known as EXIF data. Anyone with the proper software and access to your photo can view the encoded EXIF data. Not only will the coordinates of where your photo was taken be listed, but with an additional click of the mouse the location will be pinpointed on Google Earth. Now that is scary!
However, there are steps you can take to guard the location of your secret hideaway, RV and yourself.
The easiest way to protect your RV, belongings and yourself is to wait until you leave an area to share the photo. While the location of your campsite will be known, you and your RV will not be there if a criminal were to visit.
If you value your privacy and want to keep your secret boondocking campsite a secret, take a few minutes to watch the following youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvZF-yP_ceU. The video will explain more about EXIF data and how the information is encoded in your photos. It will also provide you with the steps you need to take to keep the location from being encoded so others will not have access to it.
Sharing your secret boondocking places with others, not an adventure in RVing I want to be associated with!
Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.
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