Well, they love it if you commit a crime and carry around a GPS containing iPhone - or other enabled device. So, the next time you decide to turn to a life of crime - leave that iPhone at home. Read on...
This week, security researchers revealed that Apple's iOS 4 mobile operating system, which runs on the highly popular iPhone and iPad devices, constantly tracks and stores users' approximate location information without their knowledge or consent. It has now been learned that law enforcement agencies have known about the secret iOS tracking for at least the last year, and have used the data to aid criminal investigations, according to CNet.
The information recorded by Apple is not actually users' exact location; instead, the company tracks which cell tower each iOS device uses to connect to a wireless network.
Apple has never publicized any information about the tracking function. And the closest it's ever come to acknowledging the geolocation monitoring function was during questioning from Congress last July about its privacy policy and location-based services. In a letter (PDF) to Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), Apple said that it "intermittently" collected "cell tower and Wi-Fi access point information," which is "transmitted to Apple" every 12 hours.
According to a company called Katana Forensics, however, the unencrypted data is also used by law enforcement for their own purposes.
"The information on the phone is useful in a forensics context," said Alex Levinson of Katana, who spoke with CNet. The company's iOS data extracting software, Lantern 2, is often used by "small-town local police all the way up to state and federal police, different agencies in the government that have forensics units."
While the collection of cell phone data by law enforcement remains a controversial topic, the practice has so far been upheld as constitutional by the courts.
Apple's iOS isn't the only mobile OS that collects user location information. Devices running Google's market-leading Android OS also "keep a record of the locations and unique IDs of the last 50 mobile masts that it has communicated with, and the last 200 Wi-Fi networks that it has 'seen,'" according to the Guardian.
Location-based services have become a burgeoning industry that is currently worth $2.9 billion, and everyone seems to be getting in on the action. So, apparently, if you want to keep Apple, Google or the fuzz off you're back, it might be best to go with a landline.
There may be a glimmer of hope for the little man in this, however. Once again, Rep. Edward Markey has come to the rescue, asking Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a letter sent this week to explain his company's privacy-encroaching ways.
"I am concerned about this report and the consequences of this feature for individuals' privacy," Rep. Markey wrote in the letter, followed by a series of questions about the location data file and why, exactly, it exists.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/police-use-apple-ios-tracking-data-for-investigations/ (http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/police-use-apple-ios-tracking-data-for-investigations/)
Its still a violation of privacy rights. Apple will have to answer for this, it also does say in the iTunes user-agreement that you agreed to allow Apple to do this as well. (But who the heck actually reads that mountain of words...) Its not 100% accurate either, and apparently you can turn it off by disabling 3G, but that's unconfirmed at this point.
King
Quote from: Kingisaaclinksr on April 22, 2011, 09:51:48 AM
Its still a violation of privacy rights. Apple will have to answer for this, it also does say in the iTunes user-agreement that you agreed to allow Apple to do this as well. (But who the heck actually reads that mountain of words...) Its not 100% accurate either, and apparently you can turn it off by disabling 3G, but that's unconfirmed at this point.
King
If they are also accessing wifi points, turning off 3g won't help because they can get the ISP address pretty quickly these days. Seems like a pretty gross violation of privacy especially considering that Apple is storing this information that they don't have any reason to have a need for.
Well, X, it's obvious what they're tracking that info for....Apple is in reality, the V (from the original series) and they've tagged their cattle for quicker access!! :)
Quote from: QuadShot on April 22, 2011, 10:40:56 AM
Well, X, it's obvious what they're tracking that info for....Apple is in reality, the V (from the original series) and they've tagged their cattle for quicker access!! :)
LOL! Possibly! That's actually the best reason so far.
Quote from: X on April 22, 2011, 10:00:17 AM
Quote from: Kingisaaclinksr on April 22, 2011, 09:51:48 AM
Its still a violation of privacy rights. Apple will have to answer for this, it also does say in the iTunes user-agreement that you agreed to allow Apple to do this as well. (But who the heck actually reads that mountain of words...) Its not 100% accurate either, and apparently you can turn it off by disabling 3G, but that's unconfirmed at this point.
King
If they are also accessing wifi points, turning off 3g won't help because they can get the ISP address pretty quickly these days. Seems like a pretty gross violation of privacy especially considering that Apple is storing this information that they don't have any reason to have a need for.
Yeah, unconfirmed it is...
And lol Al, best reason I've heard too. =P
King
I don't know what I think about this. A large part of me doesn't care as I have no reason to care (and nothing to hide) but then I'm a Brit and I've always believed we're not as 'rights conscious' as our cousins across the pond.
(Yes I know it's old news, it's just taken me this long to see this thread.)
An update via Apple on the situation:
QuoteThis morning, Apple officially responded to the location tracking controversy that has plagued the Cupertino company.
In a press release, Apple asserted that it is not tracking user locations (despite suggestions to the contrary). The 'configuration.db' file stored on the handset includes a database of local cell towers and WiFi hotspots; this cache is used to assist in location services and speed up the device's 'fix' in identifying where it is; a GPS-only fix without any hints from other information could date several minutes.
The locations in the file don't represent the phone's actual location, according to Apple; the points recorded may be up to 100 miles away from the phone's true location. The fact that the location data is kept for so long? That's a bug, according to Apple.
To ameliorate any further problems, Apple will issue a software update to:
reduce the size of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database cached on the iPhone
cease backing up this cache
delete this cache entirely when Location Services is turned off
This update will land on handsets in the upcoming weeks. A future update will also encrypt this information and make it less readily available to spying eyes.
The 'locationgate' tempest blew up last week when a pair of researchers published a report that revealed Apple was storing months worth of location data on the iPhone and 3G iPad. This information was originally discovered last year and flew under the radar until the iPhone Tracker app let users see the stored location data.
This data moves from the phone to the user's computer when the iOS device syncs via iTunes. The iPhone Tracker app grabs the data from the user's computer and displays it in a map that was an eye-opener for most people.
Well, at the very least they are updating it. Nothing much more can be said on this. Unless you want to call the company a liar or what not. But I'm glad they are updating to fix this issue.
King
Sounds to me like this is nothing more than seed data for the A-GPS in which case the information on the use of this data was actually advertised as a feature of the phone before the iPhone 3G was released! (Of course, I assume most people wouldn't know what A-GPS meant but it's still a little ironic if this is the truth of the matter).