In this modern day and age everyone is worried about privacy but the truth is you never really have it. Many websites use a tracking code which you unknowingly or sometimes knowingly give permission to. These sites then use your location or recent search history to provide publicity that may interest the user.

With the advances in technology, many applications and gadgets allow you to add your "location" to photos and videos that you may take (known as a "geotag")  as well as time and date through a process called "geolocation" which pinpoints the exact or estimated location where a device or piece of equipment is being used through a system called Global Positioning System known to many as "GPS".

Although some persons may find this to be dangerous, chances are your cell phone is already geotagging photos and videos taken unknown to you. You should know that turning off  the "location" option on your device does not stop geotagging from happening, it just stops your location from being shared when you post a photo or video.

Now, let's discuss why geolocation and geotagging may be beneficial when travelling.

This little bit of gathered information can assist the human memory. Believe it or not, humans are prone to forgetting little things as they age, I bet you can't remember what meal you had last Tuesday and that was merely a week ago so imagine that really nice restaurant you visited when you were in Italy and you want to recommend to a friend today but of course you can't remember because that trip was like 3 years ago and you have done so many things since then so this is how geotagging and geolocation may assist you at this stage.
You may look for a photo that you took at the restaurant (if you took one) and in the details of your photo you should be able to find the  location and possibly the name of the restaurant. Another option would be to go to whichever mapping system your device uses and in that your location history you can search the exact date or time period when you visited the restaurant to find it's possible location and with a quick search online if needed... voilà your memory is restored.

You don't need to be tech-savvy to know how to use geolocation on your device. The device manufacturers usually provide 'turn on location' option when you're setting up a new device so you probably have your location turned on already and if you don't it can be easily turned on or off in the settings panel.

Geotagging is encouraged by many applications and social networks such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook among others. The phone application Snapchat for example provides very colourful travel stamps known as 'filters' that you can add to your images providing a fun way of sharing your photos for friends to see where you have been if you wish.