Security researches are found that Apple iphone keeps track of where you go and saves every detail of it to a file that hidden to the device and is copied to the owner?s pc when the two are synched. It appears that these files have the latitude and longitude of the phone?s coordinates along with a timestamp, which means if anyone simple your phone or the computer the computer could discover the details about the owner?s movements using a simple program.
“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,” said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.
Only the iPhone records the user’s location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. “Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google’s] Android phones and couldn’t find any,” said Warden. “We haven’t come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this.”
Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, said: “This is a worrying discovery. Location is one of the most sensitive elements in anyone’s life ? just think where people go in the evening. The existence of that data creates a real threat to privacy. The absence of notice to users or any control option can only stem from ignorance about privacy at the design stage.”
Warden and Allan have set up a web page which answers questions about the file, and created a simple downloadable application to let Apple users check for themselves what location data the phone is retaining. The Guardian has confirmed that 3G-enabled devices including the iPad also retain the data and copy it to the owner’s computer.
