We’ve seen a wealth of innovations born out of smartphones’ geo-locating capabilities, but having a device know exactly where you are has often led to privacy concerns for some users. Now Mapfia is harnessing the technology to let smartphone owners find out where their contacts are in the real world, while maintaining privacy. Similar to Apple’s own Find My Friends app, Mapfia enables friends and acquaintances to share their locations with each other to make meeting up easier. Users pick a phone number from their contacts list and press ‘call’ to send a notification to the person whose location they wish to see. By answering the call, the other Mapfia user accepts the request and GPS technology pinpoints that person on a map in real-time. Their location is shown until either party hangs up. The benefit of this approach over Apple’s opt-out strategy is that users only allow access to their location for the duration of the call, rather than indefinitely. The app is available on both iOS 5 and Android devices. The video below gives more information on how the app could be used: As check-ins and similar features become a more frequent feature of social media, there is obviously a market for location based apps such as this one, but Mapfia is taking the initiative to offer users more control over their data. Are there any other apps that could also benefit from improved privacy options?

26th June 2012