Apple is draining our Batteries to update their crowd sourced databases

[kdarling]

How in the heck do you think we get traffic flow updates. They don't pull it out of thin air, they do it by the info our phone provides.

Sometimes. Usually, map providers get traffic flow info from the feeds that cities provide from their own array of sensors. Once you get outside those areas though, then crowd sourced info is the only datda available.

"If Location Services is on, your device will periodically send the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to augment the crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations." - Apple

Only part of the story. Back during that brouhaha over the hotspot caching, Apple gave Congress a detailed report on what their OS was doing. I went through it at the time and jotted some notes to myself about when that version of iOS turned on GPS and collects hotspot/cell info:

1) When device is first turned on, searches for cells/wifi + GPS for 30 seconds, batch sent later.

2) When searching for network after call dropped, cells/wifi are collected and later batch sent.

3) If diagnostics are turned on, cell/wifi coordinates are collected at start/end of call to look for bad cell spots. Batch sent later.

4) When an app requests the current GPS location, any visible cells or hotspots are immediately sent up to Apple along with GPS coordinates.

5) Otherwise, as long as an LBS app is running, it does an intermittent collection which is batch sent every 12 hours.

 

[za9ra22]

Unlike Apple, Google doesn't pretend that the information is for improving cell service (which is a laugh).

This is what Apple say they use this data for:

Location Services allows location-dependent apps and websites (including Maps, Camera, Safari, and other Apple and third-party apps) to use information from cellular, Wi-Fi, and Global Positioning System (GPS) networks to determine your approximate location.

For example, an app might use your location data and location search query to help you find nearby coffee shops or theaters, or your device may set its time zone automatically based on your current location. To use features such as these, you must enable Location Services on your device and give your permission to each app or website before it can use your location data.

Note: For safety purposes, your iPhone’s location information may be used for emergency calls to aid response efforts regardless of whether you enable Location Services.

Not much in there claiming to 'improve cell service' that I can see.

Also, Google gives you the option to not send any of the location data back (it is quick clearly marked in settings, and you phone usually asks you before it tries to turn it back on).

It's harder to see your point than it is to turn off location services on an iDevice. It's clearly marked in settings.....

I guess its more a question of whether you think Google or Apple is more likely to lie to you about the data they are collecting.

Well, who was it that was sued in various countries for collecting unauthorized data from wifi networks? Oh wait.... not Apple.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

If Apple want to collect it....I want to be paid for providing it.

You want to be paid for data that is used for a free service...

OK, how about make the service free only to people who provide the data?

 

[big samm]

If Apple want to collect it....I want to be paid for providing it.

Well next time you launch google maps and check for traffic you better pay me too!! Because you are using my info to your interest not mine!! I mean if everyone would think like you we wouldn't have *****
I will help them now so later they could help me if i need any info eg: traffic, hotspots, etc!

 

[Interstella5555]

Unlike Apple, Google doesn't pretend that the information is for improving cell service (which is a laugh).

Also, Google gives you the option to not send any of the location data back (it is quick clearly marked in settings, and you phone usually asks you before it tries to turn it back on).

I guess its more a question of whether you think Google or Apple is more likely to lie to you about the data they are collecting.

Right....Google will only sniff networks with their street view vehicles and then claim experiential code was "accidentally" loaded onto the cars. The simple fact that you're asking which company will be more transparent is a joke, Google has been reading and archiving you emails, chats, phone calls (if you use google voice) and web searches for years, and are blatantly unapologetic about it. If you post on FB they own it, have access to anyone's personal information who's stupid enough to put it up there and people love it. I'm not saying Apple isn't totally out of line here, but so is virtually every other like-minded company out there, with Google being the worst.

 

[asleep]

Apple is draining our Batteries to update their crowd sourced databases.

Argh, it's The Matrix all over again!

Where's Morpheous, where's Neo?

 

[JRoDDz]

Argh, it's The Matrix all over again!

Where's Morpheous, where's Neo?

Which pill will you take? The Red Pill and escape from this Battery Draining location tracking? Or the Blue Pill and blissfully accept your fate as the man knows exactly where you are every moment of every waking day. 1984 anyone?

 

[rockyroad55]

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4995

Per link above:

"Crowd-sourced Wi-Fi and cellular Location Services

If Location Services is on, your device will periodically send the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to augment the crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations. In addition, if you are traveling (for example, in a car) and Location Services is on, a GPS-enabled iOS device will also periodically send GPS locations and travel speed information in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to be used for building up a crowd-sourced road traffic database. The crowd-sourced location data gathered by Apple does not personally identify you."

Apple is using location services to provide them data for building up their own databases at OUR batteries expense.

No it's good for us too. People's iPhones that are sending location data to the servers help me see where traffic is good or bad.

 

[JRoDDz]

Image

That should do the trick.

My battery life seems to have gone way up after disabling the iAds thing

I turned off every single one of these, and my iPhone is working fine with everything. Battery is back to normal. My Maps show traffic data, I get good signal anywhere I go with the Cell Towers. My compass works fine. And my time zone is working just fine too.

 

[steve-p]

I probably should have read more about this stuff before going to NJ for a long weekend but in my defence, I went on 4S launch day and hadn't bothered installing iOS 5 on my old phone. Anyway, I leave data roaming enabled even when travelling internationally so I can still use email, WhatsApp, maps etc. This time round, with the 4S and iOS 5, I got charged more for roaming data in 5 days than I did for a 3 week trip in the summer So international travelling just got more complicated.