Apple Users, Beware: iPhones Secretly Tracking Location, Experts Warn

[bassrique]

That's the headline, but don't all cellphones do the same thing???

Apple Users, Beware: iPhones Secretly Tracking Location, Experts Warn



Security researchers have discovered that the latest operating system powering the iPhone and iPad keeps a log of everywhere you go, recording both the location and time you were there.

The feature has been around since June 2010, meaning some iPhones have nearly a year of location history recorded in a single file -- every step, trip to the park, family vacation and more. And that, said security experts Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, who uncovered the file, poses serious problems.

"It became clear that there was a scary amount of detail on our movements [in the iPhone]," they noted in a post on their website.

"By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple has made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements."

Apple did not respond to calls or e-mails for comment from FoxNews.com.

The two British programmers accidentally discovered the iPhone feature -- some would call it a bug -- when they were making software based on user locations. And digital privacy consultant Frank M. Ahearn says he has seen the problems caused by such lack of privacy first-hand.

"It's a scary world," Ahearn told FoxNews.com. "I've worked with clients where, for instance, a woman started realizing that her husband knew lots things he just shouldn't have known … eventually we figured out that he could tell where she was based on her phone's GPS."

Not all cell phones track the same information, though the exact details of what's being tracked are unclear. Microsoft told tech bloggers at Gizmodo that only the last location is stored on Windows Phone 7-powered devices, to support the Find My Phone feature. Google refused to tell whether Android-powered smartphones store location information in a similar fashion -- though Android phones do allow a user to opt out of location collection.

Who would use such information? Employers are starting to trace employees using company-issued cell phones, Ahearn said. It was not clear why Apple was recording the information or how the company would use it, if at all.

But the iPhone feature could be good news for police. According to the ACLU, Michigan police are currently using a device called the Cellebrite UFED during traffic pull-overs. It can grab all the data out of a phone within minutes.

The company that sells the Cellebrite UFED advertises it to law enforcement: "Get the evidence you need -- immediately."

The company's website goes on to note: "Easy to use in both the field and in lab environments, UFED extracts vital data such as phonebook, pictures, videos, text messages, call logs … it then gathers the data into reports for research and evidence."

But the ACLU argues that the use of the device by police officers during traffic stops would be illegal, and is attempting to obtain Internal records on exactly how the department uses the devices.

"[The devices] allow them to extract information from cell phones without a warrant," Kary Moss, Executive Director of the Michigan ACLU, said.

"The U.S. Constitution acknowledges that people who are not suspected of a certain crime have certain rights -- police have to obtain a search warrant."

A spokesman for the Michigan State Police said that they were drafting a statement on their use of the devices, but it was not ready by Wednesday evening.

But to the matter at hand: What can you do if you want to ensure your data is safe?

Ahearn says the simplest method is just not to use a fancy phone. As of now there is no known way to stop an iPhone with OS 4 from logging locations.

Apple Users, Beware: iPhones Secretly Tracking Location, Experts Warn - FoxNews.com

[Kwesi]

I bet Android devices are doing the same thing anyway. I dunno, I just don't think I'll care until the **** actually hits the fan, lol.

[bassrique]

Wait a minute...

But the iPhone feature could be good news for police. According to the ACLU, Michigan police are currently using a device called the Cellebrite UFED during traffic pull-overs. It can grab all the data out of a phone within minutes.

The company that sells the Cellebrite UFED advertises it to law enforcement: "Get the evidence you need -- immediately."

The company's website goes on to note: "Easy to use in both the field and in lab environments, UFED extracts vital data such as phonebook, pictures, videos, text messages, call logs … it then gathers the data into reports for research and evidence."

How did i miss that the first time around? [Must be the baseball game.]

That is ------ up.

[PazzoBasso]

iPhones are awesome. Now with extra secret tracking powers.

This could mean that neither I nor my iPhone will ever be lost again.

[TJ55]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

I bet Android devices are doing the same thing anyway. I dunno, I just don't think I'll care until the **** actually hits the fan, lol.

Yeah, I've got an Android device too and the Google Maps app will show my location at any time. I'd be hard pressed to believe that if "The Man" really wanted to find me, they couldn't use this technology to do so. It's a fine line, and slippery slope, and all that but I guess they can follow me all they want. They would be bored to tears, but hey, it's their life.

[dancehallclasher]

Good for an alibi, though. Take your phone everywhere with you for a year, then leave it home while you go murder somebody. It'll be a nice little bit of evidence in your favor

[MJ5150]

Find me all you want. I'm kind of flattered someone is interested in following me around.

-Mike

[L-A]

All cellphones can triangulate, it's not specific to the iPhone. The stored database was a bit of a surprise, though.

[MetroBass]

That's why I don't use a phone.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by MJ5150

Find me all you want. I'm kind of flattered someone is interested in following me around.

-Mike

I know right...




...it's kinda hawt

[Gomeztool]

They have logs of the users' comings and goings?

So many questions.

Why do they keep logs of the users movements?
What do they intend to do with these files?
How accurate is the location tracker?
Is it encrypted?

[Simo98]

But the iPhone feature could be good news for police. According to the ACLU, Michigan police are currently using a device called the Cellebrite UFED during traffic pull-overs. It can grab all the data out of a phone within minutes.

The company that sells the Cellebrite UFED advertises it to law enforcement: "Get the evidence you need -- immediately."

The company's website goes on to note: "Easy to use in both the field and in lab environments, UFED extracts vital data such as phonebook, pictures, videos, text messages, call logs … it then gathers the data into reports for research and evidence."

WHAT THE ****


Seriously. WHAT THE ****.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by Simo98

WHAT THE ****


Seriously. WHAT THE ****.

Of all the things there this bothers you the most? I'm genuinely curious as to why. I figured that there had to be some sort of fast cellphone data extraction tool being used by the police by now. And I'm sure it's use still falls under the 4th Amendment which is to say they couldn't just raid your phone on a whim and if they did you'd have legal grounds to sue.

[Skitch it!]

Apple didn't think to mention this with the product and it was discovered by accident? It's sneaky, it's very sneaky, there's a little side-deal going on there.

[NateS]

the spiked kool-aid might just be wearing off.......


the issue at hand isn't the fact that the iphone triangulates it's location. the issue is that it then stores every triangulation in a hidden database file. There's absolutely no non-creepy reason to keep the phone's precise, 24/7 location in a hidden file that a company, or anyone, can just get to.

as far as whether android does the same, no - it;s open source, and that linux variant has been rebuilt by so many different people that if such a function was written in, it or it's database would have been discovered years ago.

[Dirk Diggler]

Have you noticed most police cars have the little devices on the trunk of their cars these days?

Know what they do?

They record every license plate they see during the course of their beat, passively recording every license plate they see, hmm wonder why they would want all that data.

The price is what I guess we all pay for technology.
Dirk

[TheEmptyCell]

I could care less, and I think the rest of the public should start doing the same.

[Adef187]

Just encrypt your back-ups.

[boing]

Ryan Petrich has already released a daemon available in Cydia that continuously cleans the database. It's called untrackerd.

Move/Counter Move.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by TheEmptyCell

I could care less, and I think the rest of the public should start doing the same.

+1

If you aint doing nuthing wrong you shouldnt have anything to worry about, anyway