Apple Officially Addresses Location Data Controversy

[thebeans]

I also use a flip phone. It's cheaper, less likely to be stolen, better for calling, and inspired by Star Trek's tricorder

But I have an iPod Touch which I nearly lost...

I think you mean Star Trek's Communicator. The Tricorder was a much larger device used for assessing environmental conditions, medical problems, etc. The communicator was the flip-open device used for talking to others.

 

[Swift]

They told us.

But... a university study (if I remember correctly), was able to take anonymized data and determine exactly who one of the random id's in some anonymized data belonged to. It just goes to show that if you can corrolate enough information, anonymized data can become not so anonymized.

It was just from an anonymized series of Google searches, and they figured out who typed in the search. There were many, many others they couldn't trace, but it did prove that you MIGHT be found from your searches. Oh, by the way, Google searches for "how to poison your wife" and so on, captured from the cache, have been used as evidence in many trials. Why not? The computer remembers almost everything.

 

[PeterQVenkman]

The only people who worry about the system logging their location are people with something to hide.

The system shouldn't be logging your location if you have nothing to hide.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Those were bugs my rear end.

Only reason Apple is even bothering to fix it and put in what was should of been there from day 1 is because they got caught. Those were not bugs it was on purpose.

 

[lilo777]

Are you a cell-tower? No?
Are you a wi-fi access point? No?
Then *your* location was never logged in this file, because those are the only positions logged in the file.

Your inability to distinguish yourself from hundreds of inanimate objects in the world around you is moderately disturbing.

Are you sure it was the location of a tower and not your own location obtained by triangulating tower signals?

 

[gnasher729]

That doesn't excuse Apple nor make Apple's issue any less important. Two companies. Two issues. Both important. You can argue which is more important - but that's neither here nor there and off topic.

Not "both important". One loses account data for 77 million customers. Usernames, passwords, addresses, the lot. That's important. The other one stores information on a phone that doesn't really give anyone any useful information, and is only accessible by someone stealing the phone. That's not important.

Those were bugs my rear end.

Only reason Apple is even bothering to fix it and put in what was should of been there from day 1 is because they got caught. Those were not bugs it was on purpose.

Well of course. Apple sends data to your phone and stores them in a file so they can later steal that data back. It so makes sense. But wouldn't it make a lot more sense if they wanted to steal that data to just record it when they send it to you, without deleting duplicates, and recording the best possible location, not the location of a cell tower? And not leaving any traces around? All the data in this file _was sent to you by Apple_ in the first place.

 

[rdlink]

Its not about being a criminal or paranoid. This data is for the sole purpose of marketers to sell us crap.

Well, I'm tired of seeing ads everywhere I turn. You can't go to the bathroom now without seeing a ad shoved in your face and its becoming tiresome....


...You can't even read a news story on the internet without an ad being being intrusively shoved in your face.

By "a news story on the internet" are you referring to that free website you're going to, run by a for profit corporation, that needs to pay their bills for gathering that news, writing it, and paying people to develop and publish it to the web server that they're paying monthly to keep running? Is that the news story you're referring to?

 

[dbwie]

Are you sure that Apple would lie in an official statement?

Are you sure it was the location of a tower and not your own location obtained by triangulating tower signals?

 

[lilo777]

Poo. I'd rather have the option to keep backing up that cache file to iTunes. I like the ability to see a map of where I've been using the iPhoneTracker app.

An option is not the same as being tracked whether you want it or not. You can always have an app that will collect and store all your locations (with GPS accuracy if you want to).

 

[StyxMaker]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8H7)

A lot of people are upset over this. But, no one seems to care that the US Government can snoop on any electronic communication it wants for well over 10 years now: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon_(signals_intelligence)

Data transmissions, cell phone calls, you name it. I think we're trying to cook the wrong goose if you ask me.

I think ALL the gooses should be cooked. No one should get the free pass.. so I don't think it's wrong to call Apple out on this.

I thought looking at my location histories was interesting. I, too, have no delusions that I cannot be tracked (cell phone, credit card purchases, etc.) I wonder if all the paranoids realize that any GPS camera encodes that information in the image. Share that photo online and anyone can get the metadata with location of photograph.

You wanna be connected, you can't be truly anonymous.
You wanna be anonymous, sell you computer, smart phone, cut up credit cards, and move to an undocumented shack in the middle of nowhere with no utilities.

Sharing a photo is actively giving out a location. Just like foursquare, tweeting and updating facebook. This issue is about giving out data which is involuntary, non encrypted and not being able to turn it off.

And as for the latter half of your statement - it's a dangerous/slippery slope to start being apathetic about your right to privacy. Once it's all out there - it's that much harder to get it back.

And again - there's a difference between voluntarily and involuntarily releasing of private information.

Your 'right' to privacy does not extend passed your front door.

 

[PhantomPumpkin]

If you believe this is not a problem, the burden of proof is not to show there is at least one instance where the information would not be useful. Instead, the burden of proof is if for you to show there is NO circumstance where this information could be used against someone.

I disagree. ANY information can potentially be used against someone, no matter how trivial.

 

[sfphoto]

iOS4 only?

Does all this (tracking) apply to iOS4 only?

Also what if location services is turned off?

 

[farmboy]

Both are issues. Both are being addressed. Why must someone (you) throw one company under the bus in favor of supporting another. Both had/have issues and both are responding.

Surely you perceive the difference between potential misuse but no actual evidence of such, and actual felony theft.
(And I'll stop calling you Shirley.

 

[3282868]

Interesting that one particular individuals' comment ratings seem to go up 1 on their posts and down 1 on posts to them… wonder why that is…

…I can play that game too

 

[bug67]

"...Apple states that all data that is transmitted to Apple is anonymous and encrypted and can not be tied to the identity of the user..."

I hope Apple is more on the ball than Sony is.

 

[lilo777]

Are you sure that Apple would lie in an official statement?

Apple? Sure. That's exactly what they did. Did you really think that they stored location of antenna towers? Why? Those are well known. Here is quote from Arstechnica:

"Last week, a news firestorm started after the public revelation by researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden that iPhones and iPads keep a log of location data based on cell tower and WiFi base station triangulation in a file called consolidated.db."

 

[dbwie]

With this logic, we should all stop talking with each other and lead a solipsistic existence. Then we would have true privacy.

I disagree. ANY information can potentially be used against someone, no matter how trivial.

 

[Vegasman]

I disagree. ANY information can potentially be used against someone, no matter how trivial.

So you agree then. Personal information should be encrypted and secured.

 

[PeterQVenkman]

With this logic, we should all stop talking with each other and lead a solipsistic existence. Then we would have true privacy.

That's going to be my word of the day, if I can pronounce it correctly!

 

[HiRez]

It's a good plan by Apple, but let's make sure we let Donald Trump take a look at it, just to make sure it's really OK. If anything is fishy, he'll know.

 

[louis Fashion]

8 Miles High - The Byrds

I know of no cell tower or wifi device that works up to 100 miles away.

Well there COULD be a real tall tower??

 

[PeterQVenkman]

It's a good plan by Apple, but let's make sure we let Donald Trump take a look at it, just to make sure it's really OK. If anything is fishy, he'll know.

And if not, he'll offer to build us a ball room.

 

[tbrinkma]

Are you sure it was the location of a tower and not your own location obtained by triangulating tower signals?

Yes. Quite. You do realize that the tools exist to actually look at the data collected/stored on your phone, right? There's no need for people to froth themselves into a blind panic, when they can actually investigate the issue for themselves.

Yes, I'm aware that not everyone has the skill-set necessary to do so, but those are exactly the people who shouldn't spend time 'speculating' in the process. (Ask questions? Yes. Post misleading and incorrect 'facts' thereby helping muddy the waters? No.)

 

[samcraig]

Not "both important". One loses account data for 77 million customers. Usernames, passwords, addresses, the lot. That's important. The other one stores information on a phone that doesn't really give anyone any useful information, and is only accessible by someone stealing the phone. That's not important.




Well of course. Apple sends data to your phone and stores them in a file so they can later steal that data back. It so makes sense. But wouldn't it make a lot more sense if they wanted to steal that data to just record it when they send it to you, without deleting duplicates, and recording the best possible location, not the location of a cell tower? And not leaving any traces around? All the data in this file _was sent to you by Apple_ in the first place.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8H7)

Both are issues of different magnitude. I don't see why you keep comparing them. Are you trying to insinuate that we should only care about Sony and not Apple's issue? There are millions of people starving in Africa and only hundreds of thousands starving in the US. Should we only care about Africa?

Poor analogy - but my point is - you can and should care about both. Sony and Apple had issues. They are being addressed. Let it go...


Your 'right' to privacy does not extend passed your front door.

Wrong. Are you saying that my privacy can't be violated if someone breaks into my car? That my privacy can't be violated by someone illegally tapping my cell phone? That my privacy can't be violated if someone breaks into my doctors office and opens my medical records?

Perhaps you just wanted to think you were being cute/clever with your short post. But you're wrong

Surely you perceive the difference between potential misuse but no actual evidence of such, and actual felony theft.
(And I'll stop calling you Shirley.

I do. I just don't see the point in discussing Sony when Sony has nothing to do with Apple's DB file which is the actual topic here.

 

[lilo777]

Yes. Quite. You do realize that the tools exist to actually look at the data collected/stored on your phone, right? There's no need for people to froth themselves into a blind panic, when they can actually investigate the issue for themselves.

Yes, I'm aware that not everyone has the skill-set necessary to do so, but those are exactly the people who shouldn't spend time 'speculating' in the process. (Ask questions? Yes. Post misleading and incorrect 'facts' thereby helping muddy the waters? No.)

I'll repeat this post:

Here is quote from Arstechnica:

"Last week, a news firestorm started after the public revelation by researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden that iPhones and iPads keep a log of location data based on cell tower and WiFi base station triangulation in a file called consolidated.db."