Twitter made a step toward securing users' privacy by limiting the ability of a celebrity-tracking company, JustSpotted, to access certain "tweets" that the company could use to map the location of celebrities in real time.

Upon its planned lauch, JustSpotted plans to use updates and information from Twitter, FourSquare, and Facebook to publish a map online that shows exactly where celebrities have been sighted moment-to-moment.

Despite the fact that JustSpotted grew from search engine Scoopler, which had previously licensed a continuous feed of all unprotected Twitter tweets, Twitter is repudiating any connection with the company. They have also denied any connection to the development of the service.

"JustSpotted.com is not the product we licensed, and we have terminated their agreement," said a Twitter spokesperson in an interview with the AFP.

The website plans to provide "a real-time feed of every celebrity's activity."

Prior to its launch, the JustSpotted home page already showed a map of the world marked with spots where famous people, including the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama and movie stars, had recently been seen. The service purports to use technology that filters public comments on Twitter and other websites to zero in on celebrity whereabouts and activities.

In an interview with the AFP, AJ Asver, the founder and chief executive of JustSpotted, said that "JustSpotted shows you what your favorite celebrity is up to right now and where they were last spotted."

The company attempts to allay fears of attracting celebrity stalkers by stating that it is "celebrity friendly." JustSpotted claims that stars featured can work with their company to promote themselves to users.