Got an iPhone or 3G iPad? Apple is recording your moves

JRViejo · Apr 20, 2011

Today at Where 2.0 Pete Warden and I will announce the discovery that your iPhone, and your 3G iPad, is regularly recording the position of your device into a hidden file. Ever since iOS 4 arrived, your device has been storing a long list of locations and time stamps. We're not sure why Apple is gathering this data, but it's clearly intentional, as the database is being restored across backups, and even device migrations.
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O'Reilly Radar Article by Alasdair Allan.

ronjor · Apr 20, 2011

How to encrypt your iOS device’s location data in four easy steps

By: Aemon Malone

With new privacy concerns raised about iPhone and iPad location data, we bring you a quick fix to help keep your backups secure.

Earlier today, we learned that users of iOS devices are secretly being tracked by their the own iPhones and iPads. Their location data is being stored in an unencrypted file, potentially accessible by anyone possessing some basic technical knowledge and a sinister motive. When an iPhone or iPad is connected to a computer, that data file is transferred to the computer along with other, more innocuous information.

As of yet, there’s no way to prevent your iPhone or iPad from storing the location data, short of deleting all of your backed-up information (i.e. contacts, settings and text messages), a real pain if you ever happen to lose your phone. Speaking of losing your phone, consider that if it does wind up in someone else’s hands, they’ll have easy access to a tidy record of all the places you’ve been, potentially stretching back nearly a year.
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http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile...ios-devices-location-data-in-four-easy-steps/

Dogbiscuit · Apr 20, 2011

Security expert and repeat Pwn2Own champion Charlie Miller was slightly less pessimistic about who can access the file, but agreed that it wouldn't be trivial for an experienced iPhone tinkerer.

"This file is only readable by root. That means that a rogue App Store app won't be able to read it. Even a bad guy who hacks into your browser won't be able to read it," Miller told Ars. However, remote hackers can make use of two separate exploits—a code execution exploit and a privilege escalation exploit—which Miller points out have been available before in the form of jailbreakme.com (a tool that allowed users to jailbreak their devices through a Web page on the Internet).

Although Apple makes an effort to patch security holes as they come up, the jailbreak community is constantly working on new ways to gain access to previously forbidden files—if something like Jailbreakme existed before, it could exist again.

"It is bad for privacy this file exists, especially when it doesn't seem to be linked to any particular feature that provides any benefit," Miller said. "[T]here is no easy way to wipe the data from it."
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http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...n-without-your-consent-and-why-it-matters.ars

J_L · Apr 20, 2011

Not surprised at all.

cm1971 · Apr 21, 2011

Glad I don't have an iPhone.

SweX · Apr 21, 2011

I got a feeling about that Apple is not the only vendor doing this.

JRViejo · Apr 21, 2011

Sen. Al Franken (D.-Minn.), who chairs a new privacy panel set up in February, yesterday asked Apple to explain why its iPhones are tracking users' locations.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is also reportedly looking into the matter, while a Congressman from Washington State has followed Franken's lead, promising to ask questions of his own.
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Apple faces questions from Congress about iPhone tracking by Gregg Keizer.

lotuseclat79 · Apr 22, 2011

Actually, iPhone sends your location to Apple twice a day.

-- Tom

nightrace · Apr 22, 2011

SweX said:

I got a feeling about that Apple is not the only vendor doing this.
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You are correct.

Apple Inc.'s iPhones and Google Inc.'s Android smartphones regularly transmit their locations back to Apple and Google, respectively, according to data and documents analyzed by The Wall Street Journal
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In the case of Google, according to new research by security analyst Samy Kamkar, an HTC Android phone collected its location every few seconds and transmitted the data to Google at least several times an hour. It also transmitted the name, location and signal strength of any nearby Wi-Fi networks, as well as a unique phone identifier.
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Apple, Google Collect User Data
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...7101723453610.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_INTL_LSMODULE

How police have obtained iPhone, iPad tracking logs
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20056344-281.html

doktornotor · Apr 22, 2011

Another reason to NOT buy a "smart" phone. Like, ever.

CloneRanger · Apr 23, 2011

IT’S OFFICIAL: Apple Has Brainwashed The Whole Country — How Else To Explain The Lack Of Outrage Over Apple’s Secret Location Tracking?

Your iPhone has been secretly tracking and recording everywhere you go for the past several years.

Read that again.

Your iPhone has been secretly tracking and recording everywhere you go for the past several years.

That’s right. Apple built this feature into your iPhone and hid it from you. By doing so, Apple made it possible for anyone who gets ahold of your iPhone or Mac (or any other device synced with either) to figure out exactly where you were when.

That is absolutely outrageous.
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http://www.prisonplanet.com/its-off...age-over-apples-secret-location-tracking.html

x942 · Apr 24, 2011

Slot of this is hype and fear mongering. This file has been known about for a long time (since the first iPhone) in forensic circles and lots of websites (if you search for that kind of thing). Now to be far it is a concern in the event of police or a third party taking the phone an stealing the data but there is now a Cydia (jailbreak) app to clear it at regular intervals.

Also this is why I use a blackberry and its FDE No one has cracked it. I also have policies in place so apps can't be installed and web browsing is disabled. If you are worried about this kind of thing you may consider a blackberry or android device (with encryption app). In other words stay secure and safe

lotuseclat79 · Apr 24, 2011

Tools wipe location data from (some) iPhones.

Want to wipe location-tracking data that's being stored on your iPhone without your permission? There's an app for that, but you've got to jailbreak your iPhone first.

There is no way to disable the tracking, because it's baked into the operating system.
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Note: Two tools are discussed in this article.

-- Tom

lotuseclat79 · Apr 24, 2011

Why You Should Care About the iPhone Location-Tracking Issue.

-- Tom

JRViejo · Apr 25, 2011

Minnesota Senator Al Franken and the attorney general of Illinois have separately pressed Apple and Google to provide more information about the location data they collect about their end users.

The requests from Franken and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan follow recent reports that Google and Apple have been collecting data about the location of Android and iPhone users without their permission.
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Lawmakers quiz Apple, Google about location tracking by Nancy Gohring.

Dude111 · Apr 27, 2011

J_L said:

Not surprised at all.
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I have known this for awhile.....

I dont like any of this new stuff,its all spying crap.....

MY LIFE IS MY LIFE,ITS NOT AN OPEN BOOK!

JRViejo · Apr 28, 2011

Apple's explanation about how and why iPhones track users' locations was too late, too little, a crisis communications expert said today.

"For a company that prides itself on knowing what consumers want and what they think, Apple seems to have dropped the ball in a big way in this case," said Michael Robinson, a senior vice president with Levick Strategic Communications, a Washington, D.C. firm that helps companies deal with public relations emergencies.

"Privacy is at the core of what people want," said Robinson. "It's a fundamental concern. For Apple to misunderstand that was surprising. This blunder makes no sense to me at all."
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Apple 'dropped the ball' on iPhone location tracking issue, says expert by Gregg Keizer.

SweX · Apr 29, 2011

Apple have released an official Apple Q&A on Location Data

ronjor · May 4, 2011

iOS 4.3.3 is out with location tracking fixes for iPhone, iPad

By Jacqui Cheng

Apple has released an expected iOS update that addresses a number of issues related to the iPhone location tracking controversy. iOS 4.3.3 is available via iTunes for the GSM iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, all iPads, and the fourth-generation iPod touch. (Another update, iOS 4.2.8, is available for CDMA iPhone users.)

According to the release notes, iOS 4.3.3 reduces the size of the location database cache, stops backing the cache up to iTunes when you connect your device to a computer, and deletes the cache entirely when you turn Location Services off. There are no other notes attached to the update, though it's possible (as always) that Apple may have slipped some other bug fixes into it as well. (We hear there are bug fixes for the iPod touch, but we're not sure what those fixes are yet.)
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http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...h-location-tracking-fixes-for-iphone-ipad.ars

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