“Apple Inc.’s iPhone is collecting and storing location information even when location services are turned off, according to a test conducted by The Wall Street Journal,” Jennifer Valentino-Devries reports for The Wall Street Journal. “The location data appear to be collected using cellphone towers and Wi-Fi access points near a user’s phone and don’t appear to be transmitted back to Apple.”
“Still, the fact that the iPhone is collecting and storing location data—even when location services are turned off—is likely to renew questions about how well users are informed about the data being gathered by their cellphones,” Valentino-Devries reports. “The discovery of the iPhone location file comes amid growing concern about cellphone tracking overall. Last week, the Journal reported that Apple’s iPhone and cellphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android software transmitted their locations back to Google and Apple, respectively.”
“The Journal tested the collection of data on an iPhone 4 that had been restored to factory settings and was running the latest version of Apple’s iOS operating system,” Valentino-Devries reports. “The Journal disabled location services (which are on by default) and immediately recorded the data that had initially been gathered by the phone. The Journal then carried the phone to new locations and observed the data. Over the span of several hours as the phone was moved, it continued to collect location data from new places.”
Valentino-Devries reports, “These data included coordinates and time stamps; however, the coordinates were not from the exact locations that the phone traveled, and some of them were several miles away. The phone also didn’t indicate how much time was spent in a given location.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Android phones regularly transmit location data to Google ‘at least several times an hour’ – April 22, 2011
House Democrat questions legality of Apple’s iPhone, iPad location tracking – April 21, 2011
Apple’s iOS location tracking file caused by a bit of unfinished code? – April 21, 2011
U.S. Senator Al Franken demands answers from Apple’s Steve Jobs over iPhone tracking – April 21, 2011
Expert: iPhone tracking story is nothing new and Apple is not collecting the data – April 21, 2011
‘untrackerd’ jailbreak utility blocks iOS from storing recorded iPhone location data – April 21, 2011
Apple’s iPhone tracks everywhere you go; stores the info in secret file on the device – April 20, 2011
Must be another slow “news” day. Everyone using “Apple” in their headlines to attract readers. I guess Apple Inc. needs to explain the content of this file and how it is used by iOS.
Actually, it was already explained by others: Apple gathers its own database for “Assisted” part in “Assisted-GPS” technology, id est coordinates of cell towers.
The data is continued to be gathered in hope that user will someday once turn “Location services” “on” and then collected coordinates will be allowed to be sent to Apple to be an addition to the database for A-GPS. The time is needed for Apple to automatically compare sent coordinates to available in their database and either ignore the new data, if the time is old, or update it (cell towers sometimes get disassembled in old places, reassembled in slightly different places, or disassembled totally, or appear in new places, etc.)
Also, the data is collected *always* to avoid quering/online checking for towers’ coordinates in the areas where user already have been when user will someday turn “location services” “on”. The phone will not spend electricity and time for such checks in the same area — the data is already there in the phone.
Or…..people are “quickly” starting to realize what the real cost of smart phones are….their privacy.
just my $0.02
Llocation-gate or a non-issue?
I vote. Non-issue.
I second that vote. People are really clueless to think this is something new and that Apple is the only “culprit”.
Love how they gloss over “don’t appear to be transmitted back to Apple”
This is nothing new or surprising – every phone, and certainly every smart phone – is collecting data. How else can the phone provide you with all the services required? Magic? Common sense folks – grow some. And another common sense item – stop looking to WSJ and NYT journalists for tech info…
Common sense, steve516? Common sense would dictate that when a user turns off location services on the preferences panel, that the device would actually turn them off. This is a flaw if it doesn’t. Apple needs to fix this.
That’s right. Off means off. Not keep gathering info to be used later when you turn location back on! How is it that no one catches this? Off. Geez!
The free app by Ryan Petrich; “Untrackerd”, may help defuse this situation –
http://www.macnews.com/2011/04/25/untrackerd-lets-iphone-ipad-users-wipe-location-history
I didn’t see them testing Android phones. Is the iPhone the only phone worth trashing?
What do they do with the data collected? Connect the dots with the Apple Center in Maiden NC –
http://www.9to5mac.com/63544/local-fox-affiliate-digs-into-apples-new-nc-data-center/
did the tin foil hat fall off today?
and you should mention that untrackerd requires a jailbreak.
never been proven the file is sent to apple, unlike the article the other day that proved the android devices are.
These self appointed ‘technical’ journalists are beginning to annoy me again. It’s the nature of a ‘cell’ phone to have to know and keep track of where the freaking phone is!! Duh. The fact that there are many services and thousands of apps that require this info to work efficiently is the main reason why this data is needed. True there may be somethings sneaky going on in some of it for advertising, but to make a big deal out of a ‘cell’ phone keeping track of where the phone is, is an attempt to take advantage of people’s fear and create some headlines IMO. And for God’s sake don’t get the Congress/Senate involved. Those clowns always put their grand standing above all else and will sell their mother to see their name in print. It’s my understanding that Apple’s iOS ULA tells you they’re using this collected data. My guess is most iPhone users never read it and just ‘agreed’ to it’s terms.
It is irrelevant what the competition is doing, I expect better from Apple. Apple would do well to give a prompt and sharp response to this, which I think had been a lousy oversight on their part. No excuses, apologise, rectify and move on. Quicker the better.
This grows tiresome, The concept of having a phone track it’s location continuously is not a big deal. No privacy issues are violated if the transmit function is suppressed, and the user has the ability to do that. Now how many tens of thousands of apps would not work without this feature, I think the users would be surprised. I think the reason congress is up in arms is because those that have smart phones now realize that their location can be tracked 24/7 as long as they have their phones with them, also Apple does not have a monopoly on this technology. People tend to forget that the location feature in cell phones was mandated by none other than congress when people died after being caught in snow storms in the Dakota’s even though they had cell phones with them they could not be located in time. The feature is not just in smart phones it’s in dumb phones also. Congress was also complicit when the department of homeland security sequestered the records of the big 3 cellphone companies under the guise of rooting out terrorism. Where was their call for privacy then??? How hippocritical can you be? This feature has been in cell phones for years so why vilify Apple and not other phone manufacturers? I guess it’s like the old saying goes ,the only conscience that 435 little pricks can have is on how to screw the public.
The Computer Forensics groups have known about this for over a year – and use it –
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2011/tc20110421_195911.htm
Here is what you can do with the information being tracked on your iPhone –
http://petewarden.github.com/iPhoneTracker/
“So what did your forensic analysis of the user’s iPhone reveal, Dr. Headupass?”
“That the suspect in the vicinity of the crime scene”
“Within 2 miles of it”
“On the night in question?”
“We don’t know that”
“No further questions”
The politicians are already getting involved –
Senator Al Frankin’s Letter to Steve Jobs –
http://www.IBTimes.com/articles/136997/20110421/senator-al-franken-letter-apple-ceo-steve-jobs-iphone-location-tracking.htm
Apple is not collecting any of this data. When an iPhone enters a new area such as driving down the road from one area to the next, the iPhone will ask Apple to provide to it – from Apple’s database – details on WIFI hotspots and cell tower locations in the area. This way the iPhone will know were the closest towers are to give you the best service. This is not your actual GPS location, and some of the towers will be miles away from your actual location. This only think a bad guy data thief could glean from this information is that you will in a certain town. That’s it. This kind of data isn’t even useful for advertisers. STOP IT paranoid ones!!
“Guilty or not, you look like a suspect” –
This is why this is a concern – You do not want the Feds knocking down your door –
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/we-know-who-you-are-some-damn-good-reasons-to-lock-your-home-wi-fi-network/
My iPhone hates me. I meant to say: The only thing a bad-guy-data-thief could glean from this information is that you were NEAR a certain town or location. Certainly not the actual street you were driving on. It’s just cell tower locations!!
John Sileo’s “Smartphone Survival Guide” may be appropriate to read in this circumstance –
http://www.thinklikeaspy.com/store/smartphone-survival-guide/
Gene Steinberg on the “TechNight Ow”l will be interviewing him this week.
Take a look at the contents of the cache file in question before going off on this conspiracy-knee-jerk tangent. Apple doesn’t track anyone. One the other hand – droid does – every three minutes!
“…growing concern about cellphone tracking overall.”
There isn’t growing concern about cellphone tracking. Just “journalist” idiots doing hit pieces hoping to create a story where none exists. This feature of the phone is well documented and had been known about for some time.
Beating a dead horse. I would be more worried about apps that turn on cameras and microphones without express user consent. Now *that’s* something that can breach your privacy.
“Last week, the Journal reported that Apple’s iPhone and cellphones powered by Google Inc.’s Android software transmitted their locations back to Google and Apple, respectively.”
Does this guy proof his own work?
Jason, Apple enabled these technologies for a reason. It is a known fact that the Intelligence communities of the world take full advantage of these technologies.
Google for the long, long lists of those Intelligence organizations. Do you place any value in your freedom and liberty and in protecting those freedoms and liberties?
It should be a concern that even though the location toggle has been turned off, that the devices continue to send out tracking signals.
cognativedisonance, again if you would take the time to look at the content of the file in question, you would see that it only contains the location data for cell towers. I think that it safe to assume that the intelligence community already has that info . . . it is not tracking info, it is referential info – that only an iPhone cares about. STOP IT!!
Jason, Why would you insist on carrying around a homing beacon to monitor your devices’ movement? When it is supposedly turned off, it should be off.
Yes, it is a Federal requirement (FCC Telecom Act of 1996) that Apple tracks and keeps this information in their database. If they don’t keep it, they are breaking the law –
http://www.fcc.gov/telecom.html
Dear Congna,
This law basically states that Apple is required to create, maintain, and make readily available a database of cell tower and wifi locations upon demand. They are also required to program any cellular device to request updates from that database as needed in order to provide the best communication. Every cell phone in the US must do this, whether it be a smart phone or just a feature phone. Apple is not tracking you, does not keep any ID info when an iPhone requests a DB update. This is part of the cell phone functionality, and has nothing to do with the location services on the iPhone. I have spent all the time I’m going to spend arguing this point. RELAX – nobody cares if you have a list of cell towers on your phone. I have to work now.
The Telecom Act does not require anything of the sort from equipment manufacturers. It does require certain information be available from the network carriers (ATT & Verizon), but there is NO requirement that the device maintain data. In 1996 a device couldn’t maintain data of this and there are no amendments that have updated this in respect to equipment. The wireless carriers, on the other hand, provide tons of your data.
Bastards!
Jason,
Apple does not need to provide the data regarding cell tower and Wi-Fi locations. The FCC already has the data regarding the licenses and locations of those systems. Apple does have to provide information regarding the mobile users of those systems with the Intelligence communities (a.k.a. governments).
The telco companies correlate that information – by law, as it now stands, with the government entities.
And remember, this is a world wide function, not just in the USSA.
Watch what happens in post-Nazi Germany, regarding this particular privacy issue over the next 30 days. Europe knows the value of privacy.
Apple uses the data gathered, to manage your iTunes and App Store wants and needs as part of their revenue base.