iPhone & iPad Recording Your Every Move

from the big-apple dept

Wed, Apr 20th 2011 12:38pm — Mike Masnick

Just a few weeks ago, we posted about a German politician, who was able to access all of his location data from his mobile phone service provider and allowed a German newspaper to create an interactive map displaying where he was at all times (and combining it with other public info). It seemed pretty creepy. Now, if you have an iPhone or an iPad, it turns out that you can do the exact same thing for yourself. As a bunch of folks are pointing out, some folks, digging through some information on Apple's devices, have discovered that it's been recording your location for the past 10 months, and they've created an (open source) program to let you easily create a map of your own whereabouts. That's even more creepy (especially for those who own such a device). It's not clear why Apple's devices were storing this data or if anything was being done with it, but it does seem a bit unnerving.

Washington DC to New York from Alasdair Allan on Vimeo.

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Filed Under: data, ipad, iphone, privacy, tracking
Companies: apple

33 Comments

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Chris Rhodes (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 12:47pm

Combine this story with this one, and it seems to make this other one look mighty irrelevant, doesn't it?
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- Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:04pm
  
  Re:
  Or do you mean relevant?
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  - Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2011 @ 8:00pm
    
    Re: Re:
    learn2sarcasm
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- sehlat (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:05pm
  
  Re:
  Not really. The cops would have to possess your phone, however briefly, to slurp it. The GPS can be done covertly.
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- Anonymous Coward, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:37pm
  
  Re:
  While our legal system will probably not punish Apple for this (and given the whole Playstation - Linux debacle, it might even end up punishing those who exposed Apple), it will waste a ton of time going after Google for accidentally(?) storing open Wifi data that Google would be more than happy to delete (if it can be assured that deleting the data won't hurt its legal case).
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  - bryan, 20 Apr 2011 @ 7:52pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Actually, in the software licensing iOS specifically states that Apple can track, store, and distribute to vendors (advertisers and app makers) you location information.
    So legally you have already agreed to allowing apple to do this, they are doing nothing illegal.
    
    I don't like a lot of things about Apple, but every smartphone OS does something similar.
    
    The big issue is that apple does not better protect this info on the device.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 24 Apr 2011 @ 11:09am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      ...every smartphone OS does something similar."
      
      Citation, please.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:09pm

"As a bunch of folks are pointing out, some folks, digging through some information on Apple's devices, have discovered that it's been recording your location for the past 10 months, and they've created an (open source) program to let you easily create a map of your own whereabouts."

Given our legal system, Apple will probably get this code taken down (not that it'll work) and have this person liable for some reason. Everyone, quick, store the code on your comp before that happens.
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- Anonymous Coward, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:10pm
  
  Re:
  (and don't visit the code site without TOR either).
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  - Anonymous Coward, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:11pm
    
    Re: Re:
    (and, yes, I am referring to the whole Sony PS thing)
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    - David Liu (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 2:25pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Except Apple hasn't done anything of the sort that I know of with regards to jailbreaking their iOS devices. That snark was unwarranted.
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      - Anonymous Coward, 20 Apr 2011 @ 3:34pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        The point is that when big corporations do something questionable (except Google), others get in trouble instead.
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Warren Street, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:16pm

That
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Warren Street, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:17pm

That's Crazy
There should be some way to "opt out" of this sort of thing.
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Paul, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:18pm

This is only an issue if your iPhone backup is unencrypted and your phone itself is similarly unencrypted and not password-protected. That iPhoneTracker app will NOT be able to read your location database if its encrypted. (I built and ran it in Xcode and it was unable to read my 3GS's encrypted backup, but could read my fiance's unencrypted 3G back up. http://yfrog.com/h8vlpop)

Also, we're worried about a database file sitting on your phone when your cell carrier will gladly give this same information to anyone with a badge, or Google does whatever the hell they want with it? Please.
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Gwiz (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:19pm

Screw it.

Maybe we should just forget about that whole silly Constitution thingy and have everyone get in line for our surgically implanted human LoJack devices. (They have been perfecting them on our pets for years now - so they should be ready by now)

That's where we seem to be heading anyways - let's head off all that pain and anguish of having our civil rights nibbled away bit by bit and just get it over with in one fell swoop.
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Lyle Verbilion, 20 Apr 2011 @ 1:40pm

where's the Android version?
Why do I always have to wait for the good stuff to be ported to my phone?
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David Liu (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 2:31pm

Honestly though, I'm sorta less worried about this than if it were an Android version. Looking at the recent app store policies on subscriptions, Apple's the one that lets you opt-in for sending your personal demographic information to advertisers, while Google's policy make you opt-out of it.

Shows you where the company's loyalties lie. Sure, we still don't know why Apple's collecting it, but if they're not sending it out to other advertising companies and only using it for internal analysis (which almost every company does (usage analytics)), then I'm not really all that worried about it.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Apr 2011 @ 2:35pm

This is the end of 10-digits for me.

Pretty much done with smartphones my next round. I essentially gave up on the appstore model(s) last year during the WSJ expose, and now this is just cream of the crop. I'll get a slightly less convenient form factor (say ultraportable or smaller,) leave its screen closed, wear a headset with VoIP, put Ubuntu or other linux on it, and probably say good bye to cell networks for good.
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David Liu (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 3:06pm

From a post on BoingBoing:

I would except this level of sensationalistic reporting from the Guardian, but not boingboing.

The file name says it all, CellLocation, under the Cache directory.

Apple is essentially caching the location of cell tower ids, so they can do triangulation without having to request this info again from their servers. Cell triangulation is needed even with a GPS chip, because otherwise it would take a really long time to get a lock.

This actually enhances your privacy with respect to Apple since their servers don't get a request for your location at every point (which how Google does it). This is Cell ID to location is requested only when you go somewhere else covered by different cell (or the cache expires)

Sure maybe this file could be encrypted by Apple using some key, but that key could also easily be cracked and then what.

So, pretty much kinda overblown FUD by the media.
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- Modplan (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 10:46pm
  
  Re:
  No, it isn't FUD.
  
  http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/04/how-apple-tracks-your-location-without-your-consen t-and-why-it-matters.ars
  
  The data is stored lengths of time in no way explained by caching for what should be temporary purposes.
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  - David Liu (profile), 21 Apr 2011 @ 1:20pm
    
    Re: Re:
    But which is explained by the Apple engineers just saving all the data down, and never deleting it, because they didn't see any reason why to delete it in the first place.
    
    I'm also pretty sure that "cell towers" aren't a temporary thing, so my phone might as well keep a log of all the cell towers that I've ever come across, since I might pass by it again. The only reason to cull stuff like this is for performance and space issues, and neither issue seems to have come up.
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Ragaboo (profile), 20 Apr 2011 @ 3:36pm

PC version?
Am I missing it, or is there not a PC version of this app?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Apr 2011 @ 5:41pm

Security Services Will Love This
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abc gum, 20 Apr 2011 @ 6:41pm

Private Iphones
they're watching you
they see your every move
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Andreas, 21 Apr 2011 @ 12:00am

FUD?
This post seems to debunk the claim the phone is tracking your location. It seems to be determining cell tower locations and storing that data for future use. The person draws this conclusion from comparing their route with the data points in the file, and they don't match.

http://www.willclarke.net/?p=247
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Joe Tomasone, 21 Apr 2011 @ 12:45pm

Nothing to see here, folks...
I have done an analysis of the data and found nothing sinister.

http://isource.com/2011/04/20/calm-down-everyone-your-iphone-is-not-enabling-stalkers-o r-big-brother/
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Joe Tomasone, 21 Apr 2011 @ 12:45pm

Nothing to see here, folks...
I have done an analysis of the data and found nothing sinister.

http://isource.com/2011/04/20/calm-down-everyone-your-iphone-is-not-enabling-stalkers-o r-big-brother/
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Joe Tomasone, 21 Apr 2011 @ 12:46pm

Nothing to see here, folks...
I have done an analysis of the data and found nothing sinister.

http://isource.com/2011/04/20/calm-down-everyone-your-iphone-is-not-enabling-stalkers-o r-big-brother/
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Joe Tomasone, 21 Apr 2011 @ 12:47pm

It's nothing to be concerned about.
I performed an analysis of the data and found nothing sinister about it.

http://isource.com/2011/04/20/calm-down-everyone-your-iphone-is-not-enabling-stalkers-or-big- brother/
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- Joe Tomasone, 21 Apr 2011 @ 12:49pm
  
  Sorry for the dupes
  Admins, please remove. Connectivity on the go isn't always your friend..
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bill long, 25 Apr 2011 @ 6:39am

You ain't got no rights
You don't have any natural right to privacy. Apple is just "fair using" your location data. How is that "wrong?" You do not own your location data. And you have no copyright protection or otherwise.

Solution of course, don't use a device that tracks your movements if you won't want them to tract your movements
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ipad Bid, 25 Sep 2012 @ 2:52pm

SEO
I wanted to say thanks for writing and posting the article. I found it to be well written and thought provoking. Thanks again and I will continue to follow your articles to see what else you write in the future.
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