Latitude, Google’s stalk-tool that lets you see where your friends are on a map, has saved the day in Silicon Valley after it lead to the successful apprehension of a mobile phone thief.

The perpetrator snatched a woman’s bag and then jumped in a car and sped off, but the lady had installed Latitude as a joke so that she and her sisters could “stalk each other”. Her sister jumped on the service and tracked down the thief, who was immediately caught by the cops.

Nice to hear a positive story about the service, which has come under considerable criticism in the past for violating privacy.

CBS (via TechCrunch)