Anonymize Tracklog start and end (eg. home location)

[jeanclaude]

Hello all,
I really like the tracklog functionality so I can store the journeys that I have done and would like to share them with the community.
We all typically start the track from home. It would be nice to have a simple toggle that would anonymise the house location.
I know I could use the Silverfox controller or start the track at a distance from home but the toggle would be much easier.
One way to implement it would be to set a "standard" start/end point if the vehicle is inside a certain radius to be defined in our preferences.
Thanks a lot for the great app and effort,
Take Care,
Jean-Claude

[Nick Carthew]

@jeanclaude A great suggestion that I fully support. Is this possible @Corjan-Meijerink ?

[Con Hennekens]

@jeanclaude, the first thing that comes to mind is that if, out of privacy, you decide to start your track not at your own front door, but at somebody else his front door, you are violating his privacy instead of your own.

Second thing that comes to mind is why people would ever want to see someone else's tracklogs, including all places where you deviated from the route or circled around to find some coffee or lunch. If you want to share a route you have tracklogged, better turn it into a route and place WP1 somewhere on a highway or other suburban road. If it is necessary you can turn that route into a clean track (not log!) and thereby exclude all the unwanted deviations, and generate a navigationable track.

[jeanclaude]

@Con-Hennekens thanks for the idea. I live in a small town and I would set a waypoint in the city center or the parking of a super market.
If i convert my tracklog in a route i get 80 waypoints which is a hassle for a tour of 150km.

I understand you would like to refine the route and you would work on it but the anonymization of the starting/arrival point could provide a simple way to use the tracklog direclty.
Thanks a lot,
Jean-Claude

[Con Hennekens]

@jeanclaude, True about the many waypoints, but those are easily deleted.

[Nick Carthew]

@Con-Hennekens said in Anonymize Tracklog start and end (eg. home location):

@jeanclaude, the first thing that comes to mind is that if, out of privacy, you decide to start your track not at your own front door, but at somebody else his front door, you are violating his privacy instead of your own.

Absolutely no violation of privacy

Second thing that comes to mind is why people would ever want to see someone else's tracklogs, including all places where you deviated from the route or circled around to find some coffee or lunch.

Because it can be fun to share, especially if you have location photos in your tracklog, if you convert the tracklog to a route and then convert it again to a route-track, location photos are not included.

[Con Hennekens]

@Nick-Carthew said in Anonymize Tracklog start and end (eg. home location):

Absolutely no violation of privacy

Why is it a violation only if it starts at YOUR address? What would you think if your neighbour, to protect his privacy, places his WP1 always at YOUR front door?

@Nick-Carthew said in Anonymize Tracklog start and end (eg. home location):

if you convert the tracklog to a route and then convert it again to a route-track, location photos are not included.

I know, but they can be added again. I would enrich the existing route with the taken pictures and share that instead. Then you can place WP1 or N wherever you like too. But yeah, everyone has his own methods I guess

[jeanclaude]

@Con-Hennekens
Look Con, you are convinced that it is useless. For you deleting 80 waypoints is not a problem. For a "simple" user, it would be easier to propose a simple function to set an anonym location.
As Nick explains, tracklog is a central feature of MRA to share experiences.
For you some "technological" tasks are easy but a lot of people don't want to do them.
I don't know if you remember how many people complained about Garmin Bootcamp software and now Garmin has the mobile app to do everything.
Finally, a workaround is better than nothing but if the solution is simple and improves the product, it is more valuable.
Thanks for sharing.
Take care,
Jean-Claude

[Con Hennekens]

@jeanclaude, No I am not convinced that it is a useless suggestion at all. And I understand why you would want it. I just think it is not only your own privacy you should consider. Hence my suggestion to limit the anonymity to places not occupied by other inhabitants (highways or suburban roads). I just think that it is an almost impossible task to automate.

An easier way of deleting multiple waypoints is already suggested, and would of course be very welcome too.

[Jack van Tilburg]

@jeanclaude
I would like to expand the requested functionality.
TS indicates that he wants to use this for recorded tracks.
I would like to be able to apply it to tracks (that I want to share) created from planned routes. For example, because they start at a private address. Or because you can have the start (or end) in a different place for whatever reason. This way I don't have to adjust the original route and this is especially useful if you are going to share the route. Moreover, I have several tracks for which I do not have a route file. With this extra functionality I can save a lot of actions.

[Con Hennekens]

@Jack-van-Tilburg, thank you for the negative vote...

I would like to be able to apply it to tracks (that I want to share) created from planned routes. For example, because they start at a private address.

Especially if you put it like that, what is exactly the problem NOT putting the first and last WP at your frontdoor? But very likely I have earned another downvote with this constructive question.

[Jack van Tilburg]

@Con-Hennekens
As mentioned, in this case it also concerns tracks that you want to share and where the beginning is therefore not at the location of the original point.
And as I said, I don't have the original route for all tracks to adjust.
Moreover, removing a section in a track can be done very easily.

[Con Hennekens]

@Jack-van-Tilburg, apparently I am underestimating the general wish for sharing tracks. But if it is easy I am all for it, because the more people enjoy the program the better is. As explained before I would try to prevent putting the start or end of a route at someone else his frontdoor. That's probably the part where it gets complicated if done automatically. But hey, I am not trying to prevent such a feature. I thought we could have an open discussion about that. Isn't that why we both are here?

[jeanclaude]

@Con-Hennekens Sorry Con, I get your point. If this functionality would be used maliciously, the start/end point could be set at the home of somebody else.
In fact, my proposal was for a candid use where I would set an anonymous start point like a supermarket parking or a city center.
I think we can only rely on the developpers to decide if it would generate too many problems.
Thanks,
Jean-Claude

[Jack van Tilburg]

@Con-Hennekens said in Anonymize Tracklog start and end (eg. home location):

I would try to prevent putting the start or end of a route at someone else his frontdoor.

It's not just about changing a departure point placed at someone's front door.
It can be any other starting point of a track.
But there have also been situations where I have deleted a loop from a track. This works great with Basecamp.

[richtea999]

There is no privacy issue with an address. Privacy is associated with an individual, not a location on its own.

MRA publishing an address and the name of whoever lives at that address could potentially be a problem (location of a tasty bike, etc), but that's not what's being suggested.

What you would get instead is an MRA username and the wrong address. Which is excellent for confusing underhand people.

I like it - it gets my vote.

Yours,
Richtea999 with a Panigale from Stoke Poges. Yeah, right.

[Con Hennekens]

Reading back @jeanclaude his opening topic I think I misunderstood this line.:

@jeanclaude said in Anonymize Tracklog start and end (eg. home location):

One way to implement it would be to set a "standard" start/end point if the vehicle is inside a certain radius to be defined in our preferences.

I understood to start/stop the tracklog by passing that radius (leaving the start/end potentially at someone else his front door), but rereading this I see that it was meant to designate a fixed parking lot for this. Therefore I acknowledge that I was making a bit too much of a fuss from it.

[Corjan Meijerink]

@jeanclaude suggestion definitely noted