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Researchers Disclose iPhone and iPad Location-Tracking Privacy Issues
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Watch the video. It was happening on the guys phones who discovered it in the UK. Unless AT&T's signal is better than people let on, I doubt they have signal in the UK.
Edit: From tatonka's link below, this is Southern England.
*Shrug* It is probably a feature enabled on the majority of GSM carriers for statistical purposes. Again, I don't see the problem. If this information is used to improve my network coverage, why should I care? If I'm not part of a secret terrorist cell, I don't see how my life is being negatively impacted by this information especially if it does not have any identifiable information attached to it.
Apparently this feature is not enabled on Verizon phones.
I think the main problem is people stating, or at least THINKING they have privacy rights. You do, limited, but you do. The problem is, those rights REALLLLY don't apply when your on someone else's property. AKA T-Mobiles, AT&T or Verizon. You don't OWN their networks, you use them, you rent them. Just like a landlord can give you notice and say, 'I'm going to come check out the house/apt' AT&T can say (albiet in tiny print in a 300 page TOS) I reserve the right to collect your data. You sign the dotted line, get your fancy phone and don't give a ****. Thats untill someone treads on the truth then you become a tight-ass over it.
If a bunch of script kiddies on 4Chan can track down the 'Dog **** Lady' in Japan, you people don't got a chance in HELL. You got Cell Phones, and subscribe to internet forums, your IP is splayed all over the internet like beer at a frat party and your crying because a file tracks what cell tower your connected to? Theres a lot worse things then Death, this ain't one of them.
If a bunch of script kiddies on 4Chan can track down the 'Dog **** Lady' in Japan, you people don't got a chance in HELL. You got Cell Phones, and subscribe to internet forums, your IP is splayed all over the internet like beer at a frat party and your crying because a file tracks what cell tower your connected to? Theres a lot worse things then Death, this ain't one of them.
No one was insinuating you were a terrorist so chill, ok?
Out of interest, what makes you think its to improve cell coverage? Why is it recording wifi access point names, locations and MAC addresses if that is the case?
If you haven't yet, watch the video. It's quite informative of what is being recorded.
has anyone read this?
I don't usually read SLA's, but it's all right there, Page 1, Section 4, subsection b. And if don't want your iPhone to collect this data, turn off the feature.
http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iphone4.pdf
http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iPadSoftwareLicense.pdf
I don't usually read SLA's, but it's all right there, Page 1, Section 4, subsection b. And if don't want your iPhone to collect this data, turn off the feature.
http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iphone4.pdf
http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iPadSoftwareLicense.pdf
Would you mind telling us the source of this knowledge? While I have read that this happens only on GSM devices, I know from my device that it had data from all over the world. But most interesting would be where you found the information that that files gets shared with AT&T.
"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."
-Martin Niemöller
Not trying to be a aluminum foil hat theorist here but this is the kind of small first step that leads us down a dark path to a "Minority Report" kind of future.
You're not getting it. You are looking at a sunny-sky situation where nothing bad ever happens. Let's look at it from my perspective, a real-world perspective: my Macbook, which was used to sync my iPhone and my wife's iPhone, was stolen last fall. So who has all of this supposedly "safe" data now? Whoever has that Macbook. Probably nothing will ever happen, but now I have that little thing in the back of my mind thinking, "Hmm, if that guy happens to read about this and happens to still have it, he could theoretically track our normal daily movements." In other words, he'd know our daily routine - you know, most people have a routine and stick to it and don't think a second thing about it. Conceivably, he could come back and strike again because he has a good feel of when we're not there. I'd say the likelihood of this happening is extremely low. But it could happen because of this. (And we know the Macbook was used for a long, long time because of Zumocast - had it on our iPhones and her computer and saw him logged in all the time, starting a couple days after he stole it. Was actually able to recover some family videos that way, actually.)
That's what you don't get. People shouldn't even have to worry about this. That kind of data shouldn't be available, period. PERIOD. And don't tell me to encrypt my iPhone backups, that's water under the bridge. Why doesn't iTunes encrypt them automatically, hmm? There's no need for any of this.
Interesting find - but it seems that it is not possible to turn just the data collection in the center of this discussion off. You can only turn everything off or specific apps (but I don't think I saw this one listed somewhere as an app)
I fall into the "who cares" category.
If someone wants to waste their time figuring out where I've been... have a ball! I might be concerned if I was a drug lord, or cereal murderer (Die! Captain Crunch, die!). But since I'm just a software guy... again, who cares?
P.S. Snap, Crackle and Pop... you're next!
If someone wants to waste their time figuring out where I've been... have a ball! I might be concerned if I was a drug lord, or cereal murderer (Die! Captain Crunch, die!).
But since I'm just a software guy... again, who cares?P.S. Snap, Crackle and Pop... you're next!
Indeed or "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".
I too, am not happy about this.
Totally agree, if Apple turns every iPhone into a listening device, what's the problem if it ends up improving noise cancelling? And by a strange coincidence, I'm not part of a terrorist cell either.
Has there been any actual information about this information being used for improving network coverage? As far I as I know, Apple has still not said one word about this. And why is it not encrypted?
Finally some sensible example where this might cause a problem .... time for the 'remote erase' feature for MacBooks.
Looks like this has been widely known for a long time. There's an interesting ongoing discussion and analysis on the Forensic Focus website. For example, this:
As you said, we've all agreed to it. Here is the appropriate paragraph for the iPad, for those who didn't bother to check the links
Section 4.b
(b) Location Data. Apple and its partners and licensees may provide certain services through your iPad that rely upon location information. To provide these services,
where available, Apple and its partners and licensees may transmit, collect, maintain, process and use your location data, including the real-time geographic location of
your iPad. The location data collected by Apple is collected in a form that does not personally identify you and may be used by Apple and its partners and licensees to
provide location-based products and services. By using any location-based services on your iPad, you agree and consent to Apple's and its partners' and licensees'
transmission, collection, maintenance, processing and use of your location data to provide location-based products and services. You may withdraw this consent
at any time by not using the location-based features or by turning o! the Location Services setting on your iPad. Not using these features will not impact the non locationbased functionality of your iPad. When using third party applications or services on the iPad that use or provide location data, you are subject to and should review such
third party's terms and privacy policy on use of location data by such third party applications or services.
seriously did you not watch the video?
mobile phone providers collect location data themselves from all phone automatically, this information is separately collected away from the mobile networks and is not (as we know) not given to the networks (and apple don't even collect it) and only stored locally.
But the Minority Report had the most amazing designs, and everything looked flawless. And you got to sort data with your hands.
If something looks really good and have a great UI, then it can't be bad.
I've just used the software on my iPhone 4 backup, and was looking at timeline and the locations. I noticed that at the same time point, the map was showing use in Swindon (where I am) and High Wycombe (65 miles away), as well as in London (80 miles away) at the next date stamp, but i've never been to either of those places ever with my iPhone.
The only thing that I can think of is because my phone is a replacement from Apple because of a faulty home button (which could be refurbs according to some sites across the net). It seems as though the backup takes the cell tower data from the phone from any point in its life, and cannot be wiped.
Any other ideas?
The only thing that I can think of is because my phone is a replacement from Apple because of a faulty home button (which could be refurbs according to some sites across the net). It seems as though the backup takes the cell tower data from the phone from any point in its life, and cannot be wiped.
Any other ideas?
agreed - and I don't care if it stored locally on my phone .... I'm just wondering why it is stored anyway? If it is hidden from the user, nobody else can access it ... that why is it stored? I for sure will use it from now on as a feature and revisit my many trips. Does anyone know since when this is really stored - is it worth getting my old iPhone 3G backups from TimeMachine and check them out?
lol. they don't even have to subpoena these days. just ask nicely and the companies simply hand over anything they want (all in the name of being good patriots.) Of course, sometimes they charge the government for it:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa_x.htm
sorry people but you DID agree to have your location tracked and stored it is all in apples privicy policy which you read when you installed iOS or activated your iDevice.
so you lot complaining can just pipe down now.
hell it was even reported here on macrumors https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/2...close-real-time-location-tracking-of-devices/
personally I dont really mind if location data is stored on my local devices, I would however be annoyed if it was collected then transmitted to apple, who then passes it around to any useless 3rd party advertisers without a care in the world, as I hope you lot would be too.
so you lot complaining can just pipe down now.
hell it was even reported here on macrumors https://www.macrumors.com/2010/06/2...close-real-time-location-tracking-of-devices/
personally I dont really mind if location data is stored on my local devices, I would however be annoyed if it was collected then transmitted to apple, who then passes it around to any useless 3rd party advertisers without a care in the world, as I hope you lot would be too.
