Show HN: Proof of Position

proofofposition.com

17 points·charleyhine··10 comments

I kinda like the concept, except there is no way to prove you were there in the first place. It just proves you inputted a set of GPS coordinates at a specific time and can prove that.

Why? And even if there is a good reason this does not work because you can not prove that you actually were at the location you encoded into the block chain.

Why? Wanted a decentralized database of memorable places I've visited.

Proof? The key pair signing the transaction proves it originated from this service. HTML5 geolocation data could be incorrect in the same way a Foursquare check-in doesn't prove one is actually at a given venue.

But why put it into the block chain instead of a database?

My guess would be the decentralized nature of it. Even if this service goes away (like Foursquare could), your check-ins with service won't (at least until the blockchain dies, which is presumably longer than an individual company).

I thought of that, too, but then - with bitcoin still in its infancy and far from sure to survive the next five years - I think that a cloud service is a far safer bet than the block chain. Or just have your own database on the site hosting the website.

It's quite unclear to me - how much does it cost to store this data in the blockchain? I'm imagining the quantity must not be nil as otherwise it'd be possible to DOS the blockchain by supplying a large quantity of useless data.

Long story short 0 or 0.0001 BTC.

Long story - It depends on the inputs to the transaction you want to make.

With all the paranoia over privacy right now, I don't think too many people will buy into it.

GPS spoofers are built into most major browsers.

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