The debate over iPhone privacy fears seems to have no end in sight. Last year, a startling WSJ investigation revealed that a number of iPhone and iPad apps secretly expose your personal information such as phone number, current location and even your name. Apple subsequently said it would clamp down on such apps which pose [...]
The debate over iPhone privacy fears seems to have no end in sight. Last year, a startling WSJ investigation revealed that a number of iPhone and iPad apps secretly expose your personal information such as phone number, current location and even your name. Apple subsequently said it would clamp down on such apps which pose a threat to user’s privacy. But now, two British programmers Alasdair Allen and Pete Warden are claiming that your iPhone and 3G iPad [are] regularly recording the position of your device into a hidden file. Needless to say, they’ve reignite the hot debate – Does your iPhone secretly track your location?
In a detailed blog post, the two researchers claim Apple is intentionally gathering this data. They further add this data is being restored across backups and device migrations. This isn’t a new phenomenon and Apple’s been doing it for years. However, Apple changed the location of this log file since iOS 4 was launched. The researchers say they even managed to write a small proof of concept application to read the location log of an iPhone 4 device and feed it to a server for remote location tracking.
They further add that law enforcement agencies are already using data from a hidden iOS file called “consolidated.db” in criminal investigations. The theory is that this hidden file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone’s location along with a timestamp, meaning that it’s effectively possible to track the phone owner’s movement at any point of time. So, should you be worried that your iPhone is secretly tracking your movement? I don’t think so. After all, mobile networks do that all the time.
It’s understandable that a number of iPhone users expressed outrage at the news. Others simply believe it’s not a big deal and there’s really nothing to worry about. I admit that user’s privacy needs to be respected but I’m prepared to give Apple the benefit of doubt till these tall claims have solid evidence.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Are you concerned that your iPhone secretly tracks you down? Please share your opinion by leaving a comment below this post.
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