iPhone revealed to track, log users' locations
 

iPhone revealed to track, log users' locations

According to this MacWorld article:

I'm not concerned at all. It's my phone, after all. Nobody else has access to it. Know what? It also keeps a record of my phone calls, holds my calendar of appointments, and stores personal information on all of my contacts--but don't tell anyone.

I agree ,, its your device. but i would turn off bluetooth when not in use.

Why? What's the risk there? To pair or tether, you need to do authorize on the phone side.

"Nobody else has access to it?" Are we real sure about that? Any other capabilities built in that we aren't aware of just yet? A wireless transmit-receive device that can transmit it's location anytime it's powered up shouldn't be assumed to be secure. "Stores personal information on all my contacts" but I'm not concerned about security from my wireless device that stores who-knows-what about not only my personal life but the personal data on my friends, family and associates? Of course no unauthorized entity would ever break into my iPhone! That's why I don't use passwords and firewalls on my computers! s/off
I apologize for the rant. I lost my innocence quite a while ago.

First off all cell phones can track you. This is nothing new. The bad thing about this is that the file that stores this information is locally on the phone and in plain text, which is bad.

This is going to be used for data mining, and to help make Apple some $$$$.

I'm not sure why Apple would be interested in an iPhone owner's route over an extended period and how that would translate to dollars for them, but Homeland Security just might be for any number of reasons. If not now, maybe in the future. And who says this capability will only be restricted to iPhone? Testing, testing.

Google maps is beginning to use iPhone apps to transmit traffic info for their "live traffic" feature in Google maps. So, yes this data is being mined and not just by Apple. FYI - the primary source for traffic info come from the DOT system, but Google is combining these two sources to improve accuracy of traffic info:

I'm not scared. The data is very imprecise. My home isn't even on the map that the app shows up.

I think the principal of the thing is what people have a problem with. Giant companies say they are data mining but keeping everything anonymous. However, I seem to doubt that because it is in their interest, monetarily, to not keep it private.

I bet this file is encrypted and culled in the next update. No surprise that an always on device is recording ones location though, is there?

I do hope that the people complaining are not the ones using foursquare and fb places and broadcasting their location in their tweets.

I read on Daring Fireball (John Gruber) that this was a bug. Recent locations are stored in a cache file for ease of reaccess to the network. Unfortunately, iOS 4 doesn't flush that cashe as it should.

Although the article said that the data tracked location based on cell phone tower triangulation, this seems be only partially correct. The attached image is the tracking data from my iPad for last April 7th. On that day I was staying in Phuket and did a dive trip out to Koh Phi Phi. We were never on any other island or on the mainland of Thailand yet there is plenty of data for locations to which we were not even close that day. My guess is that some of the data points are actually cell tower locations rather than calculated positions.

Very good theory, especially among islands. Northumberland Strait separates the north shore of Nova Scotia from Prince Edward Island, about 20 miles away. On the beach where my brother lives, you are roughly equidistant from two towers, one on a low mountain about 20 miles South and one on PEI, 20 miles North. No triangulation possible -- there isn't a third in reach from there. The mapping would probably have you hopping back and forth.

iPhone Secretly Tracking How Dull Your Life Is
 

Everybody knows how dull my life is. I post here, LOL! (just kidding)

:)

If you're jailbroke, just install untrackerd. It keeps the location database wiped for you automatically.

LocationGate
 

At least in Europe, the "LocationGate" has not only won Apple one of this years Big Brother Awards,

but the german minister of justice Leutheuser-Schnarrenberger (FDP - Liberals) also urges Apple to fix it fast and to make sure such problems do not re-occur.

A history of your whereabouts (if you live a less dull life than some) stored on your phone is especially scary combined with the alledged use of specialised extraction devices by the Michigan State Police during routine traffic stops. Data obtained by pure triangulation from your phone operator would not only be less precise, but also need to be court-ordered.

That is always suggested, saves battery also :)

And whats is the guarantee that untracked doesn't keep trakc of what is wiped out ;)

hehe... I don't have the time to be that paranoid. :D

ha ha ... Thats it, no need to worry about location tracking. Steve said that Apple doesn't track any locations.