Geofences are a nice feature that can help you to focus on important things based on your location. At work you care for other things than in the supermarket. Showing your groceries list is a help there, but at work it’s a distraction at best. Applications that support geofencing can help us when the technology is used wisely.
There is however a downside. The geofence can be used like any other fence: To keep you out. Being unable to use a certain website, tool or content based on your location is nothing for the future. It’s already in place and will bite you in the most unappropriated moment.
Today it’s used to help big companies to control the flow of information. Don’t let you fool by the talk about saving the rights of the artists. Try to watch the World Cup or Formula 1 from another country and you know it’s not about the artists. The stream is produced in a central location and then delivered to your network. Depending on the event your network will have its experts commenting the game (or race), but they will use the same images as everyone else. And what do you see if you are traveling in another country? Nothing beyond a “Sorry the content is not available in your country”.
This kind of limitations are widely used: In paid services like Netflix, free ones like YouTube or even tax founded television networks like SRF (from Switzerland). The last one is especially annoying then I paid my taxes and now can’t use the service. You may argue that it’s impossible to identify me as a citizen from an allowed country. That would require a user management that’s currently not in place. But even on paid services who know who you are you get blocked. Netflix is so eager to protect the artists that you can’t even reach the login page…
We as developers should be aware of the problems that can be created with geofences. As soon as we limit features or access based on the location of a user we need to think of people working from abroad, those who are traveling or simply using a network that routes its communication through another country. Before we start solving the problem with a great technical solution that requires multi-device authentication we should think about non-technical solutions. What would happen if we remove the location as a limitation? Would it be really that bad if people from all over the world could use our application?
Good geofences may make good neighbours. But when your customers can’t enter they will leave.