Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for enabling the response to a command from a wireless terminal to be based at least partially on the presence or absence of other users nearby, and possibly the identity of those users. In the illustrated embodiment, a server maintains an updated list of the locations of fixed and wireless terminals within an area (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 wireless access point's area of coverage, a CDMA base station's cell, etc.). When a user issues a command to his or her wireless terminal, the command is transmitted to the server. The server determines whether there are any other nearby wireless terminals (and inferentially, the users associated with these terminals), and then determines whether the command is authorized in that environment.