Is Your iPhone Stalking You?

Do you have an iPhone? Do you have a 3-G iPad? Did you know these devices actually track your locations by storing data?

Weeks ago, this problem was brought to the public’s attention by two researchers who were studying the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system. The tracking file is hidden, so, if you have an iPhone and did not see it, you are not the only one. The iPhone acquires your location via nearby cellular towers and Wi-Fi areas. This file also records timestamps. Thus, a phone’s timestamps and location can be sought and found by anyone who takes or steals the phone.

Pete Warden, a researcher who uncovered the iPhone location tracker, said, “Apple has made it possible for almost anybody–a jealous spouse, a private detective–with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you’ve been.”

Fortunately, Warden and his co-worker searched for other manufacturers that may have done this with their phones and found none. The location tracker does not even shut off if the phone’s GPS is off; it still proceeds to record locations, timestamps, etc.

In the “Terms and Conditions” information for iTunes to synchronize with iPhones, iPads, and iPods, a paragraph does provide information about location-based services. The paragraph reads, “Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services.”

What this means is that the data recorded on your phone is transferred to your computer when you synch your phone to your computer.

Apple did respond to this outbreak when it was first publicized in the media: “The iPhone is not logging you location. Rather it is maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location.”

The purpose of this feature seems to help Apple improve service areas by seeing the coordinates of its users.

Apple spokespersons also added, “This is a bug that we uncovered and plan to fix shortly.”

Apple has released a new iOS download to fix the bug for Verizon iPhone users. This update is expected to decrease the location cache, prevent backing up via iTunes, and remove the cache when location services are off.