Although it has been know for over a year that iPhones track where you go via GPS data to send back to Apple, it's been recently discovered that this tracking is stored in a hidden file, which is copied to the owner's computer when the device is synched.  The log doesn't seem to ever be trimmed, so some could have over a year's worth of movement data logged.

Quote:"Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you've been," said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.

Only the iPhone records the user's location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google's] Android phones and couldn't find any," said Warden. "Wee haven't come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this."

Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, said: "This is a worrying discovery. Location is one of the most sensitive elements in anyone's life – just think where people go in the evening. The existence of that data creates a real threat to privacy. The absence of notice to users or any control option can only stem from an ignorance about privacy at the design stage."

Warden and Allan point out that the file is moved onto new devices when an old one is replaced: "Apple might have new features in mind that require a history of your location, but that's our specualtion. The fact that [the file] is transferred across [to a new iPhone or iPad] when you migrate is evidence that the data-gathering isn't accidental." But they said it does not seem to be transmitted to Apple itself.

Quote:Although mobile networks already record phones' locations, it is only available to the police and other recognised organisations following a court order under the Regulation of Investigatory Power Act. Standard phones do not record location data.

- Source: [The Guardian]

If you're interested in seeing what has been logged on your iPhone, or perhaps a friend's/enemy's iPhone, you can download a tool here.

I like it :P  But I have never been to those places in the yellow boxes I SWEAR!!

(This post was last modified: 20/04/2011 09:16 PM by eKusoshisut0.)

Hmmm.... I have to try it out on someone...

(20/04/2011 06:42 PM)SchmilK Wrote:  I like it :P  But I have never been to those places in the yellow boxes I SWEAR!!

i don't have an iphone i had almost did though,. :( but i like to see something like this on EP,. somewhot more dynamic with a world map

(This post was last modified: 21/04/2011 05:20 AM by ProperBritish.)

(21/04/2011 05:19 AM)ProperBritish Wrote:  All phones with GPS track location data >_<

Source says that Android phones don't.  (and great thing about open source is that you could remove it if it did)  Then again, maybe vendors stick their own, no-one knows.

(21/04/2011 05:19 AM)ProperBritish Wrote:  "WEE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE YOUR DEVICE IS JAILBROKEN, COME WITH US!"

Didn't some court case make jailbreaking iPhones legal?

(21/04/2011 05:19 AM)ProperBritish Wrote:  surely if someone found this file they'd know where you live anyway, seeing as they have to access your computer to find it xD

Not necessarily.  Considering how easy it is for peoples' computers to get trojans/zombified, they don't necessarily know where you live.
And even if that someone knows where you live, you still may not want them knowing where you've been.
Also potentially problematic if you've got a company issued must-always-carry phone, and say, you walk into a competing firm's offices for whatever reason...

I guess it's not an issue if you don't mind the equivalent of having cameras everywhere and certain people having access to all that info. (hence privacy concerns)

(This post was last modified: 21/04/2011 05:42 AM by ZiNgA BuRgA.)