Presumably with a warrant and not on the fly at the side of the road without a warrant. Although I remember reading about some sort of site the gov has set up with the carriers where they can get info without warrants (patriot act thing).
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Researchers Disclose iPhone and iPad Location-Tracking Privacy Issues
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Presumably with a warrant and not on the fly at the side of the road without a warrant. Although I remember reading about some sort of site the gov has set up with the carriers where they can get info without warrants (patriot act thing).
Well it's a good thing that's not what I claimed, isn't it then?
Did you even read the post I was responding to? I made no claim other than it is impossible to say whether or not the data is stored somewhere else unless you have some sort of evidence to suggest that it isn't. Since it's on an Apple (a company that's all about data collection) device and the data itself isn't particularly useful stored locally, it's not unreasonable to guess that it is indeed being stored somewhere else.
Still they store it and can access it - nobody except my touches my iPhone and my Laptop. I actually enjoyed looking at the map. Nobody can access it on they fly on the road.
If your behavior is risqué then the risk of a security breach is very important.
I'd agree. But unless someone is actually targeting you, you will get lost in the sheer amount of data. Google stores data about you, but they also store data about billions other.
That doesn't mean that people would end up in trouble because of security breaches, but it's a lot like people winning on the lottery. Some do, but most don't.
[conspiracy hat]
Ah, so the REAL reason for the humongous Apple data center with petabytes of storage? dun dun duuuun...
[/conspiracy hat]
Interesting read. Except it only mentions the iPhone. Doesn't say anything about the iPad.
Apple isn't the only one doing this though. If you have a cell phone, your tracked. But everyone should know this anyway. I peaked at some of the data on my backup (listed earlier). According to the agreement about, states as long as your device is not identifiably, they can do this. Am pretty sure somewhere in all that data your device is identified. Example: plug your iPhone, iPod or iPad in another Mac, you get the warning your device IS synced with another computer.
Will be interesting how this plays out.
This is really, really, REALLY bad for Apple. Bad publicity - and quite alarming.
I've had every model iPhone, had iMacs, iPads, iPods and even I am concerned. This is not okay.
Lawsuits are coming.
Just wonder how long it will take and if it will be class action or not. Days? Weeks? Months? Probably not months.
I've had every model iPhone, had iMacs, iPads, iPods and even I am concerned. This is not okay.
Lawsuits are coming.
Just wonder how long it will take and if it will be class action or not. Days? Weeks? Months? Probably not months.
A pair of security researchers today announced that they are sounding the privacy warning bell about the capability of iOS 4 to track the location of an iPhone or iPad on an ongoing basis, storing the data to a hidden file known as "consolidated.db" in the form of latitude and longitude and a timestamp for each point.While the consolidated.db file has been known for some time and has played a key role in forensic investigations of iOS devices by law enforcement agencies, the researchers note the data is available on the devices themselves and in backups in unencrypted and unprotected form, leading to significant privacy concerns. Once gathered, the data is saved in backups, restored to devices if necessary, and even migrated across devices, offering a lengthy history of a user's movement.
Article Link: Researchers Disclose iPhone and iPad Location-Tracking Privacy Issues
Oh, my God! Somebody will know that I took the train! (If, of course, they are security researchers or police officers or vengeful wives who hire a tech detective). So what? Apple does what a responsible corporation must: it won't give out your location without your permission, each and every time.
As for the rest, so what. If you're doing a crime, and the police get a warrant to your computer, they will be able to trace where the phone has been. If it doesn't mesh with what you told them, you will have some explaining to do. If you're the victim of a crime, it will give lots of evidence to the holder of a warrant for the contents of your computer.
I mean, seriously. GPS chips in small devices mean I have GPS applications that show me the way. I can, with a group of similarly consenting friends or family, know where each other is at any time.
Other people make much of the fact that cellphone data itself is not covered by warrants, according to recent court decisions. So a policeman can simply call up AT&T or Verizon, present his credentials, and get a complete accounting of where your phone has been, and when it made calls. No voice data, so I really don't think it's covered by the 4th Amendment. After all, if you walk about in a public place, people have the right to see you. And take your picture, if you're under surveillance.
To defend our rights, first have a realistic notion of what those rights consist in.
Wow, this is really, really bad. I've no idea how any company would think this was acceptable. There's no way this was simply an oversight.
Absolutely unacceptable.
Absolutely unacceptable.
The ACLU is trying to get records from the Michigan State Police are using the devices under the FOIA. The MSP says that complying with the FOIA request would cost them money; they are asking for over $500,000 to provide the information.
Read the articles I referenced above. I'd also recommend looking on the ACLU site to see what they have to say.
Wasn't this the same info they told us about when they were collecting signal information?
Location and signal strength.
Location and signal strength.
Just read the licensing pdf posted in this thread.
The bold part of section 4 is what this is talking about. You can opt out of it collecting location data if you turn off location detection. It's collecting data based on you agreeing to it.
The bold part of section 4 is what this is talking about. You can opt out of it collecting location data if you turn off location detection. It's collecting data based on you agreeing to it.
Enough with the chicken little episodes already.
Apparently, this is related to AT&T only and it is not based on GPS location services but rather a database of cell towers. It contains no identifiable information and is sent to AT&T for analysis for signal strength statistics.
Since it does not contain personal information and is being used to analyze the state of the AT&T network, I don't see a problem here. People who are not inside of the US are not affected by this.
If you think that this is a privacy concern then you need to have your head examined. It is anonymous statistical information and nothing more.
*edit*
It is possible that this information was being collected for an AT&T app that you could download a while back and the OS is still collecting it in the background regardless of whether you have the app installed. Am I crazy or is there an AT&T app that consumes this data on the app store?
Apparently, this is related to AT&T only and it is not based on GPS location services but rather a database of cell towers. It contains no identifiable information and is sent to AT&T for analysis for signal strength statistics.
Since it does not contain personal information and is being used to analyze the state of the AT&T network, I don't see a problem here. People who are not inside of the US are not affected by this.
If you think that this is a privacy concern then you need to have your head examined. It is anonymous statistical information and nothing more.
*edit*
It is possible that this information was being collected for an AT&T app that you could download a while back and the OS is still collecting it in the background regardless of whether you have the app installed. Am I crazy or is there an AT&T app that consumes this data on the app store?
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.
