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Researchers Disclose iPhone and iPad Location-Tracking Privacy Issues
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So true, back in 1978 Paramount Pictures produced Pretty Baby. It showed for years before some-one somewhere decided it was potentially pedophile material. Keep a copy on your laptop and try explaining why that's not a problem to the police or other similarly empowered authority.
I'm not .... (and I'm not on any other stupid social 'share my ****' sites) ... still, I dont have a problem to have the location data on MY phone and MY laptop unaccessible for anyone else
I'm not on Facebook.
And for a lot of things I can chose to opt-out, or even better, I get to opt-in.
This is stored without me knowing, the data is stored unencrypted, and for most owners, the data will end up on their computers unencrypted.
Apple, Google, or my phone provider storing this information in their servers is a different issue than it being stored on the phone.
Every cell phone is tracked .... don't know how many store it on the local device (out of reach for anyone except you), but the tracking data from every cell phone is stored on the providers servers and/or government servers - law enforcement could access that information in almost real time.
Every single search is localized in some sense. Google is keeping track of where you are based off GPS or IP address. This is why I don't have an issue with this; I'd rather have the file on my computer than with a company that we aren't sure is going to be on the good side for long.
I'm not so concerned that the data is there (my life is boring, so track away), but it seems careless that the data is unencrypted, even on unencrypted backups. I assume this won't stay this way long. Next update or two, I bet we'll see it encrypted.
Yes, because it's out of your possession and likely easily accessible by those who want it. The data on your phone, however, is in your possession.
So did you opt-in that the government / law enforcement gets the tracking data of your phone (smart-phone,dumb-phone,whatever-phone) .... well does not really matter because they don't care if you opted in or not, they just store it on THEIR server (which is quite different than having it on my phone and my laptop with only me having access ... well its still stored on the government server)
Speak for yourself. I'm on Facebook, but take care to limit what data of mine is given to them. They don't have my phone number, they don't have my address, my profile is private, they don't have ANY work info, I only post what I want to be public, and I only friend people I know in the flesh. Everybody should do the same. It all comes down to owning and caring for one's own data, not allowing somebody else to do it.
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Unless you decide to work for Google (which from your comment, I presume your aren't), or if you get famous, then I'd say that the chance that anyone at Google would decide to look at any data they collected about you is abysmal. This goes for any information Apple collects too. Obviously, there's a risqué for security breaches, but the chance that your info then would be accessed or used is also rather small.
Not that it's not a problem.
This is different. The information is made accessible to people around you. So, while an iPhone owner is away from the house, someone else, who will be a lot more interested in him or her, can access the log in their backup.
The excuse wasn't that 9/11 it was 911. There were some highly publicized cases of people dialing 911 from their cell phones and the emergency personnel being unable to find them. So of course new laws were passed.
Apple has NOTHING ! and NOTHING is accessible by everybody (except the owner of the device)The data is stored on YOUR phone and YOUR laptop ... Apple does not have a centralized database with that data - it is all on your devices.
THAT is why it is not a bad thing
The governments have those big databases, but that's a different story.
THAT is the bad thing
It's not the same issue. This is a problem with people close to you, be it a spouse, boyfriend, relative, or for that matter a cop lifting information from your phone.
Personally, I encrypt, I restrict access. So this isn't a problem for me, but that doesn't mean that I don't see the major problem with it.
You have no proof of this.
The data is stored on YOUR phone and YOUR laptop ... Apple does not have a centralized database with that data - it is all on your devices.
I'm sure they do... but for the most part they just subpoena the telecom provider for whatever records they require.
Innocent until proven guilty ... what happend to that? You cant just claim 'Apple has a centralized database with all your location information' when the only thing that is know is that it is stored locally on your device.
Just claiming a stupid thing and say it is true until you prove it's wrong does not work. There is no evidence whatsoever that it is stored somewhere else.
US based tracking only?
I have just tried the sw. My shiny new iPad2 was tracked in the US but not in the UK? Is this tracking different by country to comply with local laws?
I have just tried the sw. My shiny new iPad2 was tracked in the US but not in the UK? Is this tracking different by country to comply with local laws?
Sorry for the knee-jerk reaction...after reading some more, you are correct. Gotta RTFA next time.
The data is stored on YOUR phone and YOUR laptop ... Apple does not have a centralized database with that data - it is all on your devices.
THAT is why it is not a bad thing
The governments have those big databases, but that's a different story.
THAT is the bad thing
1. Does Apple require Verizon and AT&T to share any information with them?
2. If you leave your phone for service, do the geniuses lift any information from the phone?
And
3. If Apple doesn't have a need for the information, if they don't collect it, then why is it stored on the phone? Why is it unencrypted?
From what I'm reading only GSM devices do this - so if you have the WiFi it is probably not doing it.