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Hidden 'Indoor Survey' App Created by Apple Discovered on App Store

bbeagle said:
It's also for the employee's good too.

For example, it detects an employee in an empty stairwell, motionless, for 2 minutes. Maybe the employee fell and needs help? This will help get emergency response to these people when something like that happens.
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Hm, depends. Could be having a physical therapy session either alone or with consenting others ;)
 
surfologist87 said:
That sucks. No job is worth being tracked all day like a colony of piss ants.
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It is incredibly useful in a hospital. For example, a nurse needs help from another nurse or adjunct staff, she can quickly find them on a large floor (or call them in the case of communication devices). That improves efficiency and reduces friction making for a more pleasant workplace.

In many industrial settings, time motion studies can lower costs dramatically. So I can see a use for large data.
 
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polterbyte said:
I hate the way shopping malls are specifically designed to get the customer lost so as to supposedly increasing the chance of a serendipitous purchase or twelve. If this can help me navigate through new (to me) public spaces more easily than by consulting mall maps or asking for directions to mall cops, I for one would be grateful.
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Lots of malls (and the list is growing) now have interior maps on Google Maps.
Handy feature :D

DynaFXD said:
That's not entirely true as I read it. From the article you quoted "Apple does collect anonymous location data from iPhones in an effort to improve its own database of cell tower and WiFi hotspot locations, but that it only does this with user consent." What this MR article talks about is mapping the inside of a house or building. Out in the world, I can see cell providers and Apple/Google/MS rationale for knowing location data. HOWEVER, when I am at home, that is all that they need to know. Nobody should be mapping the inside of my house. Although there is no indication that they currently doing so, learning that they can now get a good idea of a house layout and where the phone is within that house based solely on signal strength (and maybe some accelerometer and smart thermostat thrown in for good measure), is concerning.
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I can see this being a "normal" escalation of the "mapping" process. While it may not have been specific for a private dwelling (I would hope) I still wonder if this is legal for any non-public location?
 
mdelvecchio said:
because you still dont get apple? after all these years? maybe?
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Maybe because he does. With the majority of businesses of Apples type showing us a less than open / honest behavior causing us not to trust them and along comes Apple and its' penchant for secrecy and one would wonder why a similar label is applied?
Apple says they do but if it's secret and we don't see it, was it done?

Just because someone is paranoid doesn't make them wrong ...
 
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Many already do. When we built a new building back in 2005, we installed sensors within the walls throughout the $20 million building. Each employee needs a badge to get into the building. The sensors can then track that badge as you move throughout the building. Most don't even know they're being tracked.

It's fairly common for companies to do this.
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I am now going to start leaving my badge at my desk when walking around :p Or better yet, Need to start wearing it covered in Tinfoil!
 
The Mad Hatter said:
It may just be me, but all this mapping and tracking tech is giving me too much of an "Enemy of the State" vibe. :eek:;)
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"Indoor positioning shows the suspect visiting X aisle of this Walgreens at 10:55am..."

or

"Customer X spent 4 minutes in the shampoo aisle -- here's a coupon for conditioner"

creepy either way
 
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The Mad Hatter said:
It may just be me, but all this mapping and tracking tech is giving me too much of an "Enemy of the State" vibe. :eek:;)
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The NSA etc can get inside whatever they want, WHENEVER they want without some silly "app". Don't think otherwise, but then, don't be paranoid :)
 
yticolev said:
It is incredibly useful in a hospital. For example, a nurse needs help from another nurse or adjunct staff, she can quickly find them on a large floor (or call them in the case of communication devices). That improves efficiency and reduces friction making for a more pleasant workplace.

In many industrial settings, time motion studies can lower costs dramatically. So I can see a use for large data.
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Of course. But along with legitimate uses like you mention, there's a huge potential for invasive tracking by less scrupulous employers.
 
Rhonindk said:
Lots of malls (and the list is growing) now have interior maps on Google Maps.
Handy feature :D
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This may well be the reason Apple has developed this app.

And as I am not overly fond of letting Google know when I'm at a Shopping Mall (handy, indeed: to Google!), I guess this app can be a nice alternative.
 
uid15 said:
The NSA etc can get inside whatever they want, WHENEVER they want without some silly "app". Don't think otherwise, but then, don't be paranoid :)
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I assume the NSA knows everything and while it's creepy as hell, on a practical level I'm just as worried about insurance companies, employers, credit agencies, marketers, etc. using this data to profile people based on their movements.
 
Rhonindk said:
Lots of malls (and the list is growing) now have interior maps on Google Maps.
Handy feature :D



I can see this being a "normal" escalation of the "mapping" process. While it may not have been specific for a private dwelling (I would hope) I still wonder if this is legal for any non-public location?
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This is very nice; hope all malls get in on this.. Will have to try it next time I have to go to the restroom in a mall to try it.
 
norrismantooth said:
I couldn't agree more. Apple says they're behind us on privacy. Wondering if they're really using the data they collect and supplying it to Feds.
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Exactly what data are you referring to? I assume you believe it's data that uniquely identifies you? And why would Apple supply it to the Feds?
 
polterbyte said:

This may well be the reason Apple has developed this app.

And as I am not overly fond of letting Google know when I'm at a Shopping Mall (handy, indeed: to Google!), I guess this app can be a nice alternative.
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I was surprised recently with a visit to Lenscafters in my local mall.
I was gifted with driving and then walking directions to the door of the store in the mall (Google Maps). When I parked, my walking directions were updated accordingly.
Pretty cool.
 
The Mad Hatter said:
It may just be me, but all this mapping and tracking tech is giving me too much of an "Enemy of the State" vibe. :eek:;)
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Well, don't worry....as I understand it, the Gene Hackman app is out next week to help keep you safe. First 500 people to download get an empty Lay's Potato chips bag as field shielding. ;)
 
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So now I can find the way to my bedroom from the living room!

Edit: Nevermind, Apple is prioritizing public places with more than a million visitors.
 
The Mad Hatter said:
It may just be me, but all this mapping and tracking tech is giving me too much of an "Enemy of the State" vibe. :eek:;)
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It is not just you....The "smart everything" world has a huge downside that the hype and advertising NEVER mention. Any hi-tech capabilities that work FOR you, can also be hijacked to work AGAINST you. And whether Apple assures the confidentiality of your info, devices, cameras, etc., hackers are always out there. As is a government who would NEVER snoop on its citizens except "for reasons of national security", which of course means anytime they choose.
 
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norrismantooth said:
I couldn't agree more. Apple says they're behind us on privacy. Wondering if they're really using the data they collect and supplying it to Feds.
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Uhhhh I doubt that is the case. Info is only handed to the "Feds" in an investigation and if your the one that they are investigating then you've got bigger problems. So really, who cares?? The only people that should are the ones walking around with nukes in their back pocket.

And to be honest I'm pretty sure this is more to collect data on the buildings around people who contiously install this app and turn it on. It's not like they will be continually tracking your exact location inside buildings all the time (unless you have a nuke in your pocket) as that would murder your battery life. Once battery life hits 3 hours max people will stop buying iPhones and apple will die, and they don't want that. Features like this are on an as needed basis. Normally that need is on the side of the user, the only time it's on the side of the "Feds" as you say is when you've done something seriously wrong and are expecting a visit from Bruce Willis in an Apache.
 
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