Ubisoft have set up the world’s creepiest website in We Are Data (sorry: WeareData), which uses geolocation data (with authorisation from the sources) to let you see what’s going on in three major cities across the globe – London, Paris, and Berlin. It’s genuinely impressive and genuinely frightening, considering you can see where people are when they make Tweets or upload photos to Instagram, as well as check out the status of local facilities.
So what’s the obvious thing to do with all of this power? Spy on people? Take control of a city? You’re thinking too small! Obviously, you’re going to set up an ARG.
Specifically, Ubisoft want you to hunt down five hackers that are loose in London. They’ll be pushing out clues as to the hackers’ real-time whereabouts in London over the next five days, and they want you to guess the location, find their Tweets and Instagrams, and put together all five posts by the hackers to discover a hidden code. Do this, and you’ll get access to a special website and get the chance to win a PlayStation 4, Watch Dogs Collector’s Editions, and all sorts of other goodies.
All said, though, it looks like this might be aimed at the UK only. Bear that in mind.
Eyes open, invasion of privacy fans. See what you can see. And maybe take this as a lesson not to post up literally everything about your life on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagr– hahaha, no, you’re going to keep doing that anyway.
The first clue, incidentally, is here.