iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go

[WelshBloke]

Well according to Steve Jobs Apple don't track you so who knows.

link

Hopefully that link worked, I'm still getting used to tapatalk.

If it goes to tube8 or the like I was...erm...just testing flash...yep thats it!

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

 

[eelw]

Odd, my list is empty on my iPhone 4. Running 4.01 since June.

 

[Phynaz]

No. My point is that it would be a bit difficult now, wouldn't it?

Why would they claim so, a year ago when this was first found they stated what it was for.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

so does anyone have any details whether this is some hardcoded script that pulls your location every ____ hours or so?

my guess is that everytime you invoke location services (maps, google search, facebook, twitter, camera + geolocation), the location your iphone gets is logged down. that's it. i highly doubt there's some separate branch of iOS that specifically fetches data on a regular basis.

i think this is all getting blown out of proportion. if it is indeed just a log of everytime location services is invoked (whether it's cell tower data or gps data), then what's new about this? the only thing you could fault apple for is for making the log run infinitely long, and ask why would you need 1+ years worth of data... but even then if it's locally stored, who really cares? what's the big deal?

of course thats my optimistic/realistic side talking, but i tend to think that's more of a realistic view than some people are making this....

think of it more as a log file, just like an error log, or IM log.

 

[Phynaz]

Actually it's not the location of the device that's logged if you believe Apple. It's the location of the cell towers and WiFi networks the device can see.

 

[s44]

There's no problem, which is why they're changing everything ASAP.

Apple says an iOS update due in ?the next few weeks? will reduce the size of the on-device cache to just seven days and delete it entirely when Location Services are turned off. The update will also stop backing up the cache to your computer, which will make apps like the now-infamous iPhone Tracker much less useful. Apple also says that the next major iOS release will also encrypt the cache

(from this is my next, of course)

this post brought to you by Swype

 

[Aikouka]

Actually it's not the location of the device that's logged if you believe Apple. It's the location of the cell towers and WiFi networks the device can see.

Yeah, essentially, they need a lot of different points of reference to try and pinpoint where an actual WiFi signal originates from.

It's kind of ridiculous how much people are blowing this out of proportion. Like I mentioned earlier, Apple should simply be more transparent on how certain services operate... especially when that service can produce such hysterical privacy concerns. I mean, if you want to see hysterical... just go read the DailyTech article's comments .

 

[akugami]

Actually it's not the location of the device that's logged if you believe Apple. It's the location of the cell towers and WiFi networks the device can see.

Not a lot of difference. Even if they can't track you down to the exact address of where you traveled they have a general idea of where you've been and where you're going.


While I'm glad Apple is apparently taking extra security measures with this type of data, it should have been more secure from day 1. This is like a web site storing userid and password in an unencrypted file thinking that since it's behind an area that users generally can't access it is safe. In today's society that's just asking to get your data stolen and harnessed in evil ways.

 

[cheezy321]

just ran into this meme. Could this be some of you on the forum?

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/27q1/

This is more against our politicians in this country, but they mandated phones track you in 2001. I still think apple shouldnt be keeping this unencrypted file on your phone...
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...fcc_law_requiring_all_phones_track_users.html

 

[Phynaz]

Not a lot of difference. Even if they can't track you down to the exact address of where you traveled they have a general idea of where you've been and where you're going.


While I'm glad Apple is apparently taking extra security measures with this type of data, it should have been more secure from day 1. This is like a web site storing userid and password in an unencrypted file thinking that since it's behind an area that users generally can't access it is safe. In today's society that's just asking to get your data stolen and harnessed in evil ways.

Meh...If somebody manages to break into my PC that's my fault. And there's a whole lot more important info on it than a location log.

Although I probably should encrypt those tax returns.

 

[ultimatebob]

is there is a windows app to do this? iphone tracker sounds cool just for my travellings sake

Yeah, I'd like to try a Windows version of iphone tracker on my old iPhone 3G backups, just to see how much data it collected on my travels.

Never mind... I found it! It's called iPhoneTrackerWin. I'll say this... you can certainly tell where I've been going for work on vacation once you've plotted the data!

 

[gsaldivar]

Why would they claim so, a year ago when this was first found they stated what it was for.

Um... because they didn't get informed consent from people beforehand?

I'm pretty sure the majority of iPhone and iPad users out there were NOT aware that an indefinite history of their location was being stored on their device...

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Not a lot of difference. Even if they can't track you down to the exact address of where you traveled they have a general idea of where you've been and where you're going.


While I'm glad Apple is apparently taking extra security measures with this type of data, it should have been more secure from day 1. This is like a web site storing userid and password in an unencrypted file thinking that since it's behind an area that users generally can't access it is safe. In today's society that's just asking to get your data stolen and harnessed in evil ways.

But how is your location data comparable to your password? I see this more as browsing history. Is your browser history encrypted? If someone gets ahold of oyur computer they can look at your browser history.

I think the only thing you can fault them for is why this information is logged forever. Sending data to Apple is fine. That's how location services works. The data sending occurs everytime you ping Apple's location servers. But it's not like this log gets appended and then uploaded to Apple everytime. People are drawing conclusions here and I think Apple would have to go into a LOT of clarification to thoroughly explain it... I'm pretty sure what they mean is everytime you ping them, they record what cell tower you use or wifi hotspot so they can help build a better location service. At the same time, your location is logged in a history file like your browser history.

People automatically combine this to say that "OMG APPLE NOW HAS A PERSONALIZED LOG OF MY LOCATION." Think of this like the internet.

Your ISP knows where you go. They don't build personalized history files. They just log every connection that goes through. That's how the Internet works. They COULD if they wanted to, build a personalized history, but I'm betting that would take a LOT of horsepower. Similar to Apple and your personalized location. AT&T could similarly build a database of where your phone is based on cell tower communication.

At the same time every site you visit is logged down locally on your browser. Your history file on your computer is not the same thing as your ISP knowing where you've gone. While they should match up, it's two separate systems. It's not the equivalent of tracking.

The same happens with Apple here, so this is why I think people are going bananas for no reason. What you COULD ask for them is to disable this logging or have the option to opt out of logging OR even CLEAR the log file kinda like clearing your browser history....

 

[gsaldivar]

I think the only thing you can fault them for is why this information is logged forever.

I fault them for:

1. Not getting a user's informed consent to store a history of physical locations on their device.

2. Not providing a way for a user to opt-out of the location tracking.

3. Not protecting the security of the tracking data that was collected.

4. Storing the user's tracking data indefinitely, without a policy of when the user could expect data to be deleted.

Sending data to Apple is fine. That's how location services works. The data sending occurs everytime you ping Apple's location servers. But it's not like this log gets appended and then uploaded to Apple everytime.

It's fine, if the user is informed of that behavior in advance and consents to it.

 

[gsaldivar]

but even then if it's locally stored, who really cares? what's the big deal?

Well for starters, imagine getting pulled over by a cop and he happens to have one of these handy. Since your phone is in your immediate control of your person, guess what? The cop does NOT need a search warrant to plug your phone into it and download the entire contents of to search for any illegal activity.

How would you feel having the entire history of your whereabouts exposed for scrutiny without even knowing that the history existed on your phone to begin with...?

At least with data stored in the cloud (on Apple or Google's server), a search warrant would be required for those companies to disclose anything. But storing it locally is practically putting it on a silver platter for anyone who wants it.

Now, let's say you're a good law-abiding citizen who doesn't care if the police looks at their personal data... How would you feel if a disgruntled co-worker got a hold of your phone and could extract the same data by simply running a data extract app? How about your husband/wife? Or what if you received a subpoena and had to provide your phone as part of legal discovery...?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Well for starters, imagine getting pulled over by a cop and he happens to have one of these handy. Since your phone is in your immediate control of your person, guess what? The cop does NOT need a search warrant to plug your phone into it and download the entire contents of to search for any illegal activity.

How would you feel having the entire history of your whereabouts exposed for scrutiny without even knowing that the history existed on your phone to begin with...?

At least with data stored in the cloud (on Apple or Google's server), a search warrant would be required for those companies to disclose anything. But storing it locally is practically putting it on a silver platter for anyone who wants it.

Now, let's say you're a good law-abiding citizen who doesn't care if the police looks at their personal data... How would you feel if a disgruntled co-worker got a hold of your phone and could extract the same data by simply running a data extract app? How about your husband/wife? Or what if you received a subpoena and had to provide your phone as part of legal discovery...?

See, but what you're saying is imagine a cop that fucks with your phone. There's plenty of information stored on your phone BESIDES your location history. Your phone accesses your personal email. If they searched your phone, they search your personal email. You could have bank accounts linked, blah blah blah. Mint.com, everything.

All the this thing is, is a history of when your phone used location services, and where the location was.

The fact that someone could steal your phone and access your data is a totally separate issue. Your phone is already a gateway to your life. Anyone with your phone can do a number of things to seriously screw up your life. So if anything, a history file like this reminds people that they should be even more careful with their data.

I think the solution to this is to allow people to clear the history. This is just like a call log. Am i allowed to opt out of a call log? Or is clearing a log enough? I say that's plenty sufficient for the iPhone to clear the location log.

 

[Phynaz]

Well for starters, imagine getting pulled over by a cop and he happens to have one of these handy.

Snip...

So you are expecting a traffic cop to take your iPhone and root it?

Alrighty then...