iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go

[Arthur]

Has anyone tried the Android Map website to see where Google think you are located? I entered the MAC address of my broadband router at home and it got surprisingly close to my house.

 

android map exposes the data that Google has been collecting from virtually all Android devices and street view cars, using them essentially as global wardriving machines.

 

When the phone detects any wireless network, encrypted or otherwise, it sends the BSSID (MAC address) of the router along with signal strength, and most importantly, GPS coordinates up to the mothership. This page allows you to ping that database and find exactly where any wi-fi router in the world is located.

 

You can enter any router BSSID/MAC address to locate the exact physical location below, or try the demonstration router by hitting "Probe" below.

[Rydra]

I don't mind what data is collected generally, as long as I am consulted properly first, and given the opportunity to say no to it. ON the 1,295th page of a contract for one line which is so vague they might as well talk about being the meaning of life, is NOT a suitable place to point it out, and T&C's are getting stupid now. You have to be a legal expert to read/understand half of them.

 

That is the key issue here, all other services such as this you either have to opt in to it, or you can turn it off. This gives you no such choice, and it has been stored in an unsecure manner. It should be encrypted, and ideally shouldn't be backed up again without consent.

 

For example, how many schools have no given ipads/itouch/iphones to some staff? Say these devices are now brought back to the school, resynchronized/backed up to a central place....

You now have an unencrypted list of where the staff have been for their holidays, probably their home, their relatives address, the route they walk their dog each night etc, sitting on your server.

 

YOU (or your data protection officer) are now responsible for the safety of that data.... But how can you be responsible for something you did not know existed?

 

Personally I turn off most location services unless I want them, and the GPS is almost always turned off. I generally don't need sat nav when driving the 2 miles from work to home!

[FN-GM]

So for all our iPhone lovers, are we still in-love with our iPhones as much now? or will you all be coming to the lovely Windows phone land?

 

Seems like Microsoft have been at it as well

 

Windows phones send user location to Microsoft ? The Register

[TechMonkey]

So the question should be, as all companies have been found to do it to one degree or another, is anyone that bothered except to try and kick up some fanboism trolling?

[ZeroHour]

Seems like Microsoft have been at it as well

 

Windows phones send user location to Microsoft ? The Register

 

Windows Phone can at least be turned off, if GSM is active on an iPhone the logging will continue and its all stored on the phone too unlike MS.

 

TechMonkey: The question tbh for me is will Apple/Google give us a real off switch for this as Apples doesnt have an off as such or opt out.

[Theblacksheep]

So the question should be, as all companies have been found to do it to one degree or another, is anyone that bothered except to try and kick up some fanboism trolling?

 

By that comment I take it you have an iphone?

[TechMonkey]

That would have no relevance due to the fact that it has been shown that Apple, Google and MS all have some form of phone location tracking, logging or reporting built in. Various arguments can be made for which is worse but they all do it. So the previous question (which, yes I should have left alone as blatant troll is blatant) shouldn't be confined to do Apple users feel like switching, it should be opened up to do any smart phone users feel like switching.

 

I will answer though. I do. & had WinMo before that, a QUI before that and may go to a new Android after this. So if I'm an "Apple Lover" I'm also a harlot and floozy of the highest order. & have no issue with that what so ever.

[ZeroHour]

That would have no relevance due to the fact that it has been shown that Apple, Google and MS all have some form of phone location tracking, logging or reporting built in. Various arguments can be made for which is worse but they all do it. So the previous question (which, yes I should have left alone as blatant troll is blatant) shouldn't be confined to do Apple users feel like switching, it should be opened up to do any smart phone users feel like switching.

 

I will answer though. I do. & had WinMo before that, a QUI before that and may go to a new Android after this. So if I'm an "Apple Lover" I'm also a harlot and floozy of the highest order. & have no issue with that what so ever.

 

I just would like an option to disable the mode and remove the history files from droid/iphone/any smartphone that has the stupid history files tbh. I dont like the file, I know they all report things to their HQ's and street view did this too, but not all store a file that follows you from device to device which you cant reset or know it exists which anyone can access from your backups and cant be disabled regardless of GPS mode.

[Tunster]

I just would like an option to disable the mode and remove the history files from droid/iphone/any smartphone that has the stupid history files tbh. I dont like the file, I know they all report things to their HQ's and street view did this too, but not all store a file that follows you from device to device which you cant reset or know it exists which anyone can access from your backups and cant be disabled regardless of GPS mode.

Same here ideally. However, if no-one had done any research on it, would we have known about it? Probably not unless we read the T&Cs (99.999999% probably don't - I don't have any hard statistics, but who's read 35 page T&Cs of any electronic product in detail?). This is the issue with big corporations. We have no idea what affiliations they have with certain governments/authorities over the world. We can only assume it's only for research data they need to improve their products as stated in their T&Cs. Hopefully this will get them to at encrypt the data in future if they're desperate for the data.

 

I do have to take TechMonkey's stance and agree the whole issue gets blown out of proportion when certain media journalists get hold of this sort of thing. Especially against Apple. It's like they're only company that make mobile phones .