Hi I am trying to understand how location tagging works for observations, firstly sometimes I want to obscure my location, I can select the “Obscure” option but I also noticed that by default the location picker has a large circle surrounding it:
What is this circle? does this mean that a random location in that area will be selected even if geoprivacy is set to open? if so what is the purpose of the Obscured setting?
Welcome to the Forum!
The Help page for Geoprivacy should answer most of your questions.
The circle representations the certainty/uncertainty in the true location. It could be better named “precision.” Many devices will generate a value for this (like a GPS device that says the coordiantes are accurate to within 3 m). Basically, you should set the circle (Acc (m)) so that you are sure that the true location is within it. The value can be adjusted graphically (on the map) or by typing in a value.
Thus would be it be allowed/within norms to make a circle with a let’s say 500 meter diameter and set that as my true location (without obscuring)?
I’ve found that obscured location is sometimes ends up in bodies of water and I want my data to be as close to real life as possible without revealing my exact position so this may be a good in-between solution.
Yes, this is fine. As long as the true location is in the circle, the location is considered accurate. One downside to this method (which I also use for my home location), is that the true coordinates are not available. With obscured records, you can trust other users or projects and they can access the true location. I use this method for observations at my house (since it’s just one location, and I will easily know where the true location is). When there are a lot of observations, I think it becomes less ideal and use iNat’s obscuration functionality.
