iPhone IMEI Tracking?

[MacRumors]

An Uneasysilence.com article has stirred some controversy by pointing out that Apple's Stocks and Weather widgets on the iPhone include the user's IMEI code when making requests to Apple's servers.

The IMEI code a uniquely identifying number for each phone.

Now, the conspiracy theorists suggest that Apple can now track your stock habits, but your own personal opinion on this discovery may vary.

Article Link

 

[Squonk]

Or worse yet, people can track me by my weather inquiries. Point to self: always look up weather for multiple cities to keep the stalkers at bay...

 

[Gav]

The more worrying thing I suppose would be if you were using a non-AT&T network to browse the web. A quick IP WHOIS lookup will tell you the originating ISP, so if you were browsing on an unlocked iPhone, Apple could easily tell.

 

[ogee]

Yes, but you could be roaming.

 

[chr1s60]

Why do I care if Apple knows what stocks or weather I am following? Couldn't AT&T just as easily look and find out where my last call was made? I personally have multiple cities in my weather app, only one of which I live in. I also have multiple stocks in my stocks app, some I own and some I am just watching. The only thing I could possibly see Apple using this for is to see what cities are getting a lot of iPhone use. That stat could possibly tell Apple the areas that would be more likely to buy new Apple products. I don't think this is a big deal.

 

[dborja]

Why do I care if Apple knows what stocks or weather I am following? Couldn't AT&T just as easily look and find out where my last call was made? I personally have multiple cities in my weather app, only one of which I live in. I also have multiple stocks in my stocks app, some I own and some I am just watching. The only thing I could possibly see Apple using this for is to see what cities are getting a lot of iPhone use. That stat could possibly tell Apple the areas that would be more likely to buy new Apple products. I don't think this is a big deal.

+1. No big deal here either if they do care to monitor what stocks I watch and which cities I check weather on.

 

[jaydub]

I guess I'm a little confused why people are so passive about this. I'm not one of those people who feels like my ever freedom is being infringed upon, but I certainly don't want all my actions to be watched by my cellphone provider.

 

[RichP]

Who cares...other websites and internet services log your IP. At most, this is a simple security measure for apple so non-iphones are not able to access their weather and stock services.

Somebody alert me when Apple does something with iphone that is truly different. People complain about activation, pricing, etc etc etc when it is just like any other phone that was released before it in most regards.

 

[SilentPanda]

IMEI has no relation to you the subscriber.

 

[chriswheat]

The more worrying thing I suppose would be if you were using a non-AT&T network to browse the web. A quick IP WHOIS lookup will tell you the originating ISP, so if you were browsing on an unlocked iPhone, Apple could easily tell.

Ridiculous. What if I'm browsing from the Wi-Fi in my house? Will Apple come after me because they think I unlocked my phone and now Comcast is my mobile provider?

 

[asherman13]

Other IMEI use by Apple...

I called AppleCare (via 1-800-MYIPHONE) yesterday to get a replacement set of headphones; the clicker isn't working. Anyways, the lady asked for my IMEI number along with my phone number, e-mail address used to set up the iPhone, etc. before asking what the problem was.

Significance?

 

[daze]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/3A109a Safari/419.3)

Don't care at all.

 

[crees!]

Honestly, I don't have an iPhone, yet, but I really don't care. And for those who cry for personal privacy... wake up and join reality.

 

[Twinkie]

I guess I'm a little confused why people are so passive about this. I'm not one of those people who feels like my ever freedom is being infringed upon, but I certainly don't want all my actions to be watched by my cellphone provider.

Not all of AT&T's network is NAT'ed, and it certainly isn't encrypted throughout the data path.

So in a nutshell, your actions can be watched by anybody.

Ridiculous. What if I'm browsing from the Wi-Fi in my house? Will Apple come after me because they think I unlocked my phone and now Comcast is my mobile provider?

Unless you've somehow managed to turn off EDGE and GPRS completely (or if using anything other than AT&T triggers the Data Roaming preference) while keeping voice active, this contention is irrelevant.

 

[chriswheat]

Honestly, I don't have an iPhone, yet, but I really don't care. And for those who cry for personal privacy... wake up and join reality.

Sad, isn't it? That our reality has become that personal privacy doesn't exist, and that people are so willing to accept that reality. I don't have a problem with this iPhone issue. As someone else said, it could easily just be because they only want iPhone users to have access to the stocks and weather data. But I do have a problem with people who are willing to give up their personal privacy just because that's the way they perceive reality.

 

[Stella]

Honestly, I don't have an iPhone, yet, but I really don't care. And for those who cry for personal privacy... wake up and join reality.

If your from an EU country where there are strict privacy laws then you'll take personal privacy a bit more seriously than if your from north america originally.

After getting a land line in Canada I was stunned that in less than a week I was getting calls from telemarketers. Telemarketers have absolutely no business in knowing my phone number.

 

[Phil A.]

If you read the iPod touch forum, it appears plenty of people have these apps working on the touch. As the ipt doesn't have an IMEI number (as it isn't a phone), how does that square with this?
Also, the URL doesn't seem to be active at the moment, and even if that query is being called, I don't see anything that says what stocks are being monitored. Finally, Every time you make a call, you pass your imei number to the cellphone provider, which I think is far worse than this

 

[Twinkie]

Sad, isn't it? That our reality has become that personal privacy doesn't exist, and that people are so willing to accept that reality. I don't have a problem with this iPhone issue. As someone else said, it could easily just be because they only want iPhone users to have access to the stocks and weather data. But I do have a problem with people who are willing to give up their personal privacy just because that's the way they perceive reality.

On the same note, being in the United States (or being a US citizen abroad) doesn't mean that you walk around in life with the Constitution in your back pocket.

Freedom isn't defined by demanding that all things cater to your whims, and Privacy isn't (legally) expected everywhere you go.

You have every right to refuse to buy an iPhone or other device that doesn't meet your standards. You have every right to use a carrier other than AT&T. Et cetera.

If your from an EU country where there are strict privacy laws then you'll take personal privacy a bit more seriously than if your from north america originally.

After getting a land line in Canada I was stunned that in less than a week I was getting calls from telemarketers. Telemarketers have absolutely no business in knowing my phone number.

So they don't have phonebooks in Europe? The extent of public information in the EU is "We're protecting you. Go away!"?

I think you're confusing "privacy" with "not being bothered". They're not the same.

If you read the iPod touch forum, it appears plenty of people have these apps working on the touch. As the ipt doesn't have an IMEI number (as it isn't a phone), how does that square with this?
Also, the URL doesn't seem to be active at the moment, and even if that query is being called, I don't see anything that says what stocks are being monitored. Finally, Every time you make a call, you pass your imei number to the cellphone provider, which I think is far worse than this

Did you know that if you take your iPhone to another country, another carrier will have your IMEI?

A carrier that you know nothing about! Possibly even a carrier in a terrorist / communist / socialist state!

If nothing else, I like how the iPhone seems to have this magical way about waking people up to how the wireless industry has been operating for years.

 

[jonny]

If your from an EU country where there are strict privacy laws then you'll take personal privacy a bit more seriously than if your from north america originally.

After getting a land line in Canada I was stunned that in less than a week I was getting calls from telemarketers. Telemarketers have absolutely no business in knowing my phone number.

Rogers are the worst for this. I signed up for cable internet using my girlfriends cell phone number, this being the only time i had ever used her number associated with my name. within a few weeks we were getting calls to her cellphone asking directly for me from all types of companies.

Rogers has no regard for personal privacy whatsoever.

 

[Stella]

So they don't have phonebooks in Europe? The extent of public information in the EU is "We're protecting you. Go away!"?

I think you're confusing "privacy" with "not being bothered".

My example IS a privacy issue - how did the telemarketers get the data so quickly? Bell passed the data to a third party, which is a privacy issue.

EU countries do have phone books but you can be asked not to be included in the phone directory.This was just one example. EU countries have strict laws about what companies can do with digital personal data, how long they can keep data for etc, certainly a lot stricter than this side of the pond. Any company has to register with a data registrar and specify the purpose of keeping data is, and how it will be used. This stops companies from selling personal data if they aren't authorized to.

The IMEI number is tied to the phone. It can be very useful, for example - if your phone is stolen or lost your carrier can disable the phone, regardless if SIM is changed.

 

[Twinkie]

My example IS a privacy issue - how did the telemarketers get the data so quickly?

Because your phone number is public information. What difference does it make if your phone company sells / rents / gives it to them in two months or two days, if the information is public and available to anyone who wants it?

EU countries do have phone books, but this was just one example. EU has strict laws about what companies can do with digital personal data, how long they can keep data for etc, certainly a lot stricter than this side of the pond.

And what, exactly, are you basing that assertion on? Your perception, based on telemarketers calling you in Canada?

 

[somberlaine]

the Why and How are key...

The Key questions we should be asking now are:

1. What type of Information is Apple collecting?

2. Why is Apple Collecting the information?

3. How is Apple using the information?

4. Who is Apple sharing the information with?

 

[minik]

I'm not worrying about it as well, not that it's Apple.

Pretty much all the 'connected' devices these days do that, right? It's hard to avoid.

 

[roland.g]

Fix Stacks and I'll tell you your stock jumped five points and snow is coming.

 

[Stella]

This is a good example of what we think as 'privacy'. You don't consider your phone number being private ( oh, and your other data sold along with it ), where as I do. Different countries, different definitions of what privacy is.

Because your phone number is public information. What difference does it make if your phone company sells / rents / gives it to them in two months or two days, if the information is public and available to anyone who wants it?

And what, exactly, are you basing that assertion on? Your perception, based on telemarketers calling you in Canada?

No, I'm basing my assertions on Canadian and British law ( and no, I don't like the mass of CCTV cameras in the UK - but I don't live there ). In recent years, Canadian law has beefed up data protection.

Sadly, we are losing all our privacy as technology progresses. Marketing companies will want more information about us, as will governments.