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Steve Jobs on iOS Location Issue: 'We Don't Track Anyone'

Jobs reportedly responded, turning the tables...

LOL!

Yep, them tables sure were turned because the CEO is in the trenches blessing every line of iOS code that goes into every product. Steve knows best. Rumor dispelled. Next item.

Seriously... the audacity of Apple in this day and age is mind-boggling. Everything they do lately seems to be a PR nightmare just waiting to happen.
 
NebulaClash said:
Android is given freely, so how does Google make money? The same way they make just about (95%+) ALL their money: from selling information to advertisers. So Android exists to get more people to use Google software, which then allows them to sell more ads and make money.
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Matt-M said:
http://www.google.com

:)
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http://paidcontent.org/article/419-...es-little-known-advertising-rev-share-deals-/

They only make money when you SEARCH on your android handset.
 
Popeye206 said:
Yeah the nerve of Apple and Google!

What do you think they do with the data? Maybe Steve likes to see his herd of iPhones sparkle by the 10's of millions across the planet? I'm sure Google is also setting up the fortress of solitude so they can wield their web ads at will to all Droid's as you meander in your average life! :eek:

The nerve of them both and I bet Microsoft is doing this too! :rolleyes:

How freak'n ridiculous.
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Yeah, who really cares if someone can see where you've been anyway, unless you are cheating on your wife or have committed a crime. And in the latter case, this information is available from the cell company anyway via a court order.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8H7)

"As many observers have noted, the iOS location database does not record exact GPS data, instead seeking to pinpoint the locations of Wi-Fi access points and cell towers that the device comes within range of"

So what's all the fuss over? It shows what cell towers you were near. OMG!!
 
Just a local db

Nothing really to see here except that someone made a nice app that can parse this file and list locations on a map where you've been. And if you encrypt you're iphone backups(good practice) the consolidate.db can't be even read by the app or Apple unless they bruteforce it.

All someone has to do is instead check system logs to see if unencrypted consolidate.db files were being uploaded to Apple or used in any shady ways.
 
levitynyc said:
"We don't track anyone."

Sent from your backyard.
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:D :D :D

Shouldn't that be "Received in your backyard... no wait, your kitchen..., no wait, your bathroom... hmmm, hmmm, hmm, hm, hmm,... hey wash your hands now that you are finished!... now received out the front door, getting into car... did you know your license has expired?... Just help'n you out... :rolleyes: :eek:

Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone?
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Reply: Oh yes they do.
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Not much in the way of explanation from Steve...

Guess that e-mailer is probably learning the ins and outs of his new Droid...
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Where was all the uproar when Dick Cheney and company was reading your emails and tapping into your phone conversations? Nobody raised an eyebrow about that. When that was made public the Fox News/Wallstreet Journal response was "well unless you're doing something illegal you don't have anything to worry about." The government is still doing it by the way. Apple, on the other hand is not tracking anybody's movements and the Wallstreet Journal and their like minded ilk are having a cow. In the words of GW Bush, "they're nothing but a bunch of hypocrizers."
 
d4rkc4sm said:
this is a non-story sad steve jobs has to even reply to these stupid allegations
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"Allegations"?
People claim the iPhone saves cell location data on the phone, and also saves this file during iTunes backups. This is TRUE, and can be verified by reading your OWN iPhone database, which shows where YOUR phone has been. That would be impossible if it didn't save that data.

SOME people (not most!) also claim that the data is sent to Apple, rather than just kept on the device. THIS, however, is unproven and may well be false.

As it stands, though, I don't see how "The info circulating around is false." is not a lie. It's very easy to verify that "the info" that this data is indeed saved is true.
 
LOL at people who think Android just collects location data without the user's knowledge.

When you turn on Location Data you have to press Agree to the Location Consent popup, which says you agree to let Google collect anonymous location data. Disable it if you want.
Where do people get the idea that Google collects location data regardless of whether or not you selected Agree on the popup?

I don't see any location consent popups on my iPhones here.
 
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8H7)

So Steve was right. Apple doesn't actually track anyone.
 
He's saying Apple do not keep records of your location.

Why would they want to know where their customers are?

It's already been discovered Android phones keep a record of their movements in an identical way to iPhone.
 
Rot'nApple said:
:D :D :D

Shouldn't that be "Received in your backyard... no wait, your kitchen..., no wait, your bathroom... hmmm, hmmm, hmm, hm, hmm,... hey wash your hands now that you are finished!... now received out the front door, getting into car... did you know your license has expired?... Just help'n you out... :rolleyes: :eek:





Not much in the way of explanation from Steve...

Guess that e-mailer is probably learning the ins and outs of his new Droid...
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/
/
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Made me think of this...hilarious

http://www.theonion.com/articles/google-responds-to-privacy-concerns-with-unsettlin,16891/
 
NebulaClash said:
How so? Everything he said fits the facts as we know them. There is NO evidence that this information gets transmitted to ANYONE, and believe me people are looking hard to prove otherwise. So this makes Steve look like he's telling the truth.
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Even if it did go to the "Mother ship" what the heck would they do with 80 million plus iPhone tracking information????

I could see it now... "Steve, we have this week phone tracking data. Looks like most people are going somewhere this week and it would appear that Starbuck's visits are up 2%" said the minion to Mr. Jobs.

As Steve wrings his hands with a evil smile on his face he responds "Excellent, Smithers, now go get me a grande double chi latte. And don't forget to take your iPhone". And he snickers with a evil laugh.
:rolleyes:
 
Apple Can Deny...

Because "they" didn't slip this trojan into the phones...the government did via the phone companies/FCC.

It is not enough to track every internet/email action of the population, they also want to know where we are at all times and our habits so a "repairman" can enter the house of a "dissident" while they are at work and...
 
Maltz said:
It exists. There's no reason for it to exist. You can't disable it. And there are HUGE privacy implications should the file be accessed without your permission - by thieves, stalkers (or worse), advertisers, police, etc. - none of whom can access your cell company's location records, except authorities, and even then only by subpoena. Which means a judge has to agree that there's a good reason for them to need it.

Why is the file even there in the first place?
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Ok, granted, it exists; what makes you think there's no reason for it to exist? Are you an Apple engineer? Obviously not. Should you disable it? I don't think so. Yes, there are privacy implications, but if the data is not collected by Apple and is inaccessible to anyone without physical access to the phone, then the majority of those implications are pure conjecture without any evidence to support it.

On the other hand, by the phone having a database of cell towers and wifi hotspots, transfer of signal can be made much more efficiently by on-board software and automatic connection to known Wi-Fi locations is automatic, not forcing you to manually locate and connect every time. Among other things, this saves on battery power by eliminating the searching a phone has to do each time it loses signal as you move around. If you've done any long-distance travelling, I'm sure you can remember how your cell phone drank its battery in hours while you drove down the highway, yet after the first one or two trips along a given route, the iPhone seems to increase battery life when repeating that route. Logically speaking, the file really does improve the user experience.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8H7)

Interesting how the guy is a total dick when writing to Steve. Nice to see SJ keeps his cool when these idiots with a massive sense of entitlement choose to hit the send button.
 
applefanDrew said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8H7 Safari/6533.18.5)

I don't get the big deal about it. If you want to be anonymous, get off fb, twitter, macrumors, etc. Then cancel all Internet plans you have and your cellular plan. Then no one will ever know where you are unless you tell them.
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And also make sure that you don't leave home without a heavy disguise in case you get tracked by a CCTV camera.
 
Arcus said:
So Steve is saying there is no database of locations? Thats just an outright lie.
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He didn't say that at all. The question was if Apple is tracking user locations. He said no. Which is correct. The information never leaves your iphone or computer.

Unlike the app that shows the map of the spots which calls out to two servers, one of which couldn't be identified and for all we know is recording your data along with your IP and other deets.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8H7)

Proof please that that was an actual reponse from Steve Jobs? O wait you can't.

Now the media will latch onto this claiming Jobs is lying. The media are the best, so informative and truthful.
 
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