iPhone tracks users' movements

TheIrishGrover

Bloody hell.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13145562

20 April 2011 Last updated at 16:41 GMT

iPhone tracks users' movements
Map of iPhone movements Apple's iPhone and iPad 3G collect information about their users' location which can be mapped
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Apple iPhones and 3G iPads are secretly recording and storing details of all their owners' movements, researchers claim.

Location data is kept in a hidden, unencrypted file according to security experts Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden.

With the right software, it can be used to map exactly where a person has been.

Apple has yet to comment on the revelation, however there in no suggestion that it has been uploading or using the information.

The findings, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, will come as a surprise to most iPhone users, as their devices do not give any visual indication that such data is being recorded.

However, although the practice is not explicitly flagged-up, it appears to be covered in the company's terms of use.

"We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behaviour and improve our products, services, and advertising"
Clearly intentional

Writing on the technology website O'Reilly Radar, Mr Allan and Mr Warden said they did not know why iPhones and iPads were collecting location information but it was "clearly intentional".

The men claim that the facility to record users' positions was added with the iOS4 software update, released in June 2010.

The data is also transferred to the owner's computer and stored in a file there each time the two devices are connected to carry-out a backup or synchronisation.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos, told BBC News that it was unlikely Apple planned to use the information for commercial purposes.

"I think there are some legitimate privacy concerns and people will probably look for a way of obscuring that data," he said.

"But it is an object lesson about reading the terms and conditions," he added.

Kensington

Guess what? Your mobile phone network knows EXACTLY where you are right now. They know where you were at 1pm this afternoon. They know where you were at 1pm three months ago.

I'm not particularly concerned. The iPhone tracks your whereabouts anyway if you sign up to the Find My iPhone feature which allows you to remotely locate, lock and wipe the handset. Maybe it's planned to update the Find My iPhone service to track the phone location history after it has been stolen, who knows.

whiterebel

Kensington wrote: »

Guess what? Your mobile phone network knows EXACTLY where you are right now. They know where you were at 1pm this afternoon. They know where you were at 1pm three months ago.

I'm not particularly concerned. The iPhone tracks your whereabouts anyway if you sign up to the Find My iPhone feature which allows you to remotely locate, lock and wipe the handset. Maybe it's planned to update the Find My iPhone service to track the phone location history after it has been stolen, who knows.

Quite a bit different though, to them traking your whereabouts without your knowledge. At least you sign up to find my iPhone......

Andrew33

Kensington wrote: »

Guess what? Your mobile phone network knows EXACTLY where you are right now. They know where you were at 1pm this afternoon. They know where you were at 1pm three months ago.

I'm not particularly concerned. The iPhone tracks your whereabouts anyway if you sign up to the Find My iPhone feature which allows you to remotely locate, lock and wipe the handset. Maybe it's planned to update the Find My iPhone service to track the phone location history after it has been stolen, who knows.

Not exactly. Mobile phone evidence used in a murder trial here a couple of years ago was able to show which mast/masts picked up signal from the accused' phone which placed him in the vicinity of the crime. The difference with the iPhone (and other smart phones) is the built in GPS which they have. If you were using a regular (unsmart?) phone your network would not know exactly where you where at all times. It's still a tad "1984" ish though:cool:

Sad Professor

It would appear that this log files records cell towers and wifi data, but not GPS data. So it's not recording your exact position. I'd be concerned about why this is being recorded and how well it is encrypted, but I wouldn't be too worried about Apple using this data. It would be different it was Google.

Gregor Samsa

Kensington wrote: »

Guess what? Your mobile phone network knows EXACTLY where you are right now. They know where you were at 1pm this afternoon. They know where you were at 1pm three months ago.

The difference is, that in order for anyone to get the tracking data from your phone company, they have to get a court order. In order to get this data, all they need is access to your phone or unencrypted phone backups on your computer.

GPS data isn't used - just cell tower triangulation, so it's not completely accurate for every specific instance in the log, but it's accurate enough on average.

Here's a proof of concept Mac application that can read the database from your backup, and display your historic location on a map:

http://petewarden.github.com/iPhoneTracker/

This was written by the guys that discovered the tracking file (well, the ones that have publicised it at least - others discovered it before, and kept quiet about it). The deliberately hobbled the app by only displaying your location on a weekly basis, and limiting the resolution of your location - the actual information stored in the database is much more frequent, and the location much more precise (but not necessarily accurate). It wouldn't take much to make the application render the much more precise data, so maybe we'll see that soon.

This is a big deal, simply because it's being done without the user's consent or knowledge, and there's no apparent way to stop it being logged. It doesn't matter if Apple are doing it for some planned service - they should be up front about it, and it should be opt in. The way this is implemented, it sounds like something Facebook or Google would do.

whiterebel

Sad Professor wrote: »

It would appear that this log files records cell towers and wifi data, but not GPS data. So it's not recording your exact position. I'd be concerned about why this is being recorded and how well it is encrypted, but I wouldn't be too worried about Apple using this data. It would be different it was Google.

Why Google, and not Apple as a matter of interest?

Sad Professor

whiterebel wrote: »

Why Google, and not Apple as a matter of interest?

I just don't particularly trust Google. Their whole business is in collecting and selling data to advertisers. Apple's business is selling hardware. For the time being at least, I think Apple are the lesser of two evils when it comes to privacy.

Gregor Samsa

Sad Professor wrote: »

I just don't particularly trust Google. Their whole business is in collecting and selling data to advertisers. Apple's business is selling hardware. For the time being at least, I think Apple are the lesser of two evils when it comes to privacy.

"For the time being" indeed: iAds

Sad Professor

phutyle wrote: »

"For the time being" indeed: iAds

iAds is just a way for developers to make money from their apps. As with the iTunes/App Store, Apple make a very small profit from it. They use it to draw developers to their platform, resulting in better apps and in turn more hardware sales. Could Apple become more reliant on advertising in the future? Sure, but unless you think they have plans to abandon making hardware, it's not something I'd be worried about.

On the other hand, advertising is Google's whole business. They don't sell anything to their users, it's all free. Instead they sell their user's data to advertisers.

Mellor

Every sinlge person with an iPhone agreed to this

mufcboy1999

illuminati lads enough said, the internet is going to be the downfall of mankind its all a set up to get your details, personal info like your location, images, family, freinds, lifestyle etc etc

iphones and normal mobiles tracking your location, soon you wont be able to take a shi* without them knowing.

reduce the worlds population is there goal, so we become more easy to control.

all these disasters popping up are avoidable and yes even japan, they were all preventable they could have saved peoples lifes. theres more coming and they know about them 2012 aint no joke lads.

send your iphones to me and il take care of them free of charge lads.

Mellor

mufcboy1999 wrote: »

illuminati lads enough said, the internet is going to be the downfall of mankind its all a set up to get your details, personal info like your location, images, family, freinds, lifestyle etc etc

iphones and normal mobiles tracking your location, soon you wont be able to take a shi* without them knowing.

reduce the worlds population is there goal, so we become more easy to control.

all these disasters popping up are avoidable and yes even japan, they were all preventable they could have saved peoples lifes. theres more coming and they know about them 2012 aint no joke lads.

send your iphones to me and il take care of them free of charge lads.

Candidate for stupidiest post ever (and yes i know you were joking)

ironclaw

I'd say this data has some connection to SkyHook and the location based services. Rather than send someone out to test and measure, just get every user with a iPhone to do it without thinking. I'm not worried and neither should anyone else. This is the way the world is going. Every Google search is recorded etc etc so its just another aspect of our digital lives. I can't see a reason why someone would be worried about someone else knowing where they were, unless it was for suspect purposes.

What hasn't been mentioned either is the huge reams of data such as Call Logs and SMS's that the iPhone also stores (Even after deletion). If your up to no good or have a good reason not to want records, don't buy an iPhone.

Andrew33

Mellor wrote: »

Every sinlge person with an iPhone agreed to this

Maybe, but not knowingly. Do you read all the terms and conditions before you click on "I agree"?

Gregor Samsa

ironclaw wrote: »

I can't see a reason why someone would be worried about someone else knowing where they were, unless it was for suspect purposes.

Privacy isn't just for the guilty.

I don't want my boss knowing that I went to Company X for an interview.
I don't want my wife to know that I went to Shop x to buy her a surprise gift.
I don't want my business competitor knowing what clients I visited and when.
I don't want my crazy ex-girlfriend knowing my every move.
I don't want the scumbag that stole my iPhone knowing everywhere I've been and at exactly what time.

Basically, I don't want any old Joe to be able to easily access my life history without my consent or appropriate legal authority.

rivalius13

FINALLY I'll be able to figure out where the hell I went off to that night in Galway...

Gregor Samsa

Mellor wrote: »

Every single person with an iPhone agreed to this

Well, the Terms and Conditions say:

We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behaviour and improve our products, services, and advertising

But they don't say "And we'll store all this in a perpetual unencrypted file right there on your iPhone, and on any computer you back the iPhone up to, and this file will get transferred on to new devices you set up from old backups. And anyone who gets their hands on this file, will be able to easily access the entire location history of your iPhone."

So, no, every single person with an iPhone has not agreed to this.

Any company has legal and ethical responsibilities with regards the data they store and collect, regardless of the T&Cs. What Apple are doing may be legal, but it's certainly underhand and irresponsible.

Sunnyisland

Is this just applicable to your own phone or could I put someone else's number or they put mine to find someones movements.

nagero

realies wrote: »

Is this just applicable to your own phone or could I put someone else's number or they put mine to find someones movements.

It is an app you run on your machine that reads the data from your iPhone's backup file.

If you're worried about this then:

• Turn on encrypted backups http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766
• Enable data protection to encrypt your data on the iPhone http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4175

A side effect of encrypted backups is that they will include the passwords for your email accounts and mobile me, so if you restore you won't have to enter that info again.


regards

kevin

seamus

realies wrote: »

Is this just applicable to your own phone or could I put someone else's number or they put mine to find someones movements.

It only applies to your own phone. The information is being collected by your phone, not by Apple.

And no, the files are not being transmitted to Apple.

I imagine this is being collected for an innocent enough purpose and the wider implications weren't thought of.

More specifically the plan is probably to collect cell and WiFi data on the phone which can then be used for more efficient hand-offs and to "predict" what cell or WiFi networks are coming up. The iOS can then use this information to more efficiently move between cells and connections because it knows what cells and/or wifi networks are strongest in which locations.

Imagine it like a monkey swinging through the vines, only he's been down this path before and he knows exactly where the vines are and which are strongest and longest.

The information would be timestamped as a matter of course - when you log something, standard practice for most people is to stick a date & time on it, otherwise you've no idea what constitutes new or old data.

It would also serve a purpose in troubleshooting connectivity issues - it's possible that this is a debugging or support feature built in to be used by the developers and support people.

Daniel S

Mellor wrote: »

Every sinlge person with an iPhone agreed to this

Actually no, I got an iPhone when my dad upgraded (he even gave me the new one, he was happy with his old one! ). So I didn't agree ta nofin!!!



I'ma go sue Apple for $100,000,000,000.34

EDIT: Wait, did I agree to this when I downloaded the new firmware? Ah $%&£ then... There goes me money.

zinzan

If you're jailbroken, there's a fix for this coming to Cydia called untrackerd

IamMetaldave

zinzan wrote: »

If you're jailbroken, there's a fix for this coming to Cydia called untrackerd

http://www.techtosh.com/untrackered-clear-automatic-logging-of-locations/

BrianD

Sad Professor wrote: »

I just don't particularly trust Google. Their whole business is in collecting and selling data to advertisers. Apple's business is selling hardware. For the time being at least, I think Apple are the lesser of two evils when it comes to privacy.

You mustn't be paying too much attention to what Apple are doing! The are unique on how they are monetizing their users. Apple don't care about their customers (they do of course give the impression they do) - it's all about their hardware and how they want you to use it.

Apples business is not about selling hardware - look at iTunes, look at the percentages they take off app developers, look at the percentages they plan to take off subscriptions. Their overall aim is to control your device and all media that you consume on it. Google are benign when you compare them to the control freaks that are Apple. It is amusing how the Apple apologist are out doing themselves to invent the possible reasons that would benefit the consumer to explain this. It's not for your benefit. It's to make money out of you as an Apple product user somewhere in the future.

Back on topic, it is concerning that the device is storing this data and reports indicate that Apple may have a future use. At the very least, there should be a declaration that your device is storing this info and who can and how it will be retrieved and used. What the lack of transparency on this?

I'd say there's a few antennae popped up in the Dept. of Homeland Security though this feature may not be news to them. "So what you're saying is that you as a good patriot could give us movements of an Apple device, hmmm, how about this guy..."

bren2002

Id love to see a Windows version of the mapping software.

Homer

It's ok I'm wearing my tinfoil hat... They can't see me

Sad Professor

BrianD wrote: »

You mustn't be paying too much attention to what Apple are doing! The are unique on how they are monetizing their users. Apple don't care about their customers (they do of course give the impression they do) - it's all about their hardware and how they want you to use it.

All they care about is making profit from selling hardware to customers. If the devices are good they sell more, if they are bad they don't. So in that sense they do care about the user's experience because their profits are dependent on it. Do they really care about their customers? Of course not. But how are they "unique" in this regard to any other corporation? Do you think MS or Google care about their users? For that matter who is Google's customers? Their users or the advertisers?

Apples business is not about selling hardware - look at iTunes, look at the percentages they take off app developers, look at the percentages they plan to take off subscriptions.

Do you have figures to show that Apple's business is not about selling hardware? So far it would seem Apple make a very small profit from iTunes and the App Store. The percentage they take from developers goes into running the App Store. But I agree about subscriptions, the 30 percent they are planning to take there is probably too high. But that's for developers and publishers to worry about. Or is Apple supposed to care about them as well? They are a multinational electronics corporations ya know, not a philanthropy. Of course they want their slice of the pie.

Their overall aim is to control your device and all media that you consume on it. Google are benign when you compare them to the control freaks that are Apple. It is amusing how the Apple apologist are out doing themselves to invent the possible reasons that would benefit the consumer to explain this. It's not for your benefit. It's to make money out of you as an Apple product user somewhere in the future.

So basically according to you, Apple are evil control freaks who don't care about their users, but Google are benign? Sounds to me like you are the apologist.

I don't think any corporation cares about people and it's silly to attack either Apple or Google on that basis. But at least Apple's profits come from their users. Apple want to control their devices so they can stay ahead of their competitors and sell more of them. Google want to direct everyone back to their search engine and "free" services so they can collect more data and sell it to advertisers. Neither of them is really benign and you'd have to be a fanboy to think otherwise.

I'm not an Apple apologist, but do try and counter some of the silly sensationalist nonsense that some people spread about them and their devices.

Zascar

CNET article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20055885-37.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

There is a tool to visually plot your data - anyone want to give it a go?
http://www.courbis.fr/Localisation-iPhone-votre.html

Johnmb

BrianD wrote: »

You mustn't be paying too much attention to what Apple are doing! The are unique on how they are monetizing their users. Apple don't care about their customers (they do of course give the impression they do) - it's all about their hardware and how they want you to use it.

Apples business is not about selling hardware - look at iTunes, look at the percentages they take off app developers, look at the percentages they plan to take off subscriptions. Their overall aim is to control your device and all media that you consume on it. Google are benign when you compare them to the control freaks that are Apple. It is amusing how the Apple apologist are out doing themselves to invent the possible reasons that would benefit the consumer to explain this. It's not for your benefit. It's to make money out of you as an Apple product user somewhere in the future.

Back on topic, it is concerning that the device is storing this data and reports indicate that Apple may have a future use. At the very least, there should be a declaration that your device is storing this info and who can and how it will be retrieved and used. What the lack of transparency on this?

I'd say there's a few antennae popped up in the Dept. of Homeland Security though this feature may not be news to them. "So what you're saying is that you as a good patriot could give us movements of an Apple device, hmmm, how about this guy..."

I'd be with Sad Professor on this. Even if Apple are planning on using this info to try to make more money out of me, at least I know it is Apple who has, and is using, the information. I don't even use Chrome because I don't trust Google with my information, who knows who they'd be selling it on to. Apple get it, Apple use it, Google get it, whoever pays uses it.

BrianD

Sad Professor wrote: »

All they care about is making profit from selling hardware to customers. If the devices are good they sell more, if they are bad they don't. So in that sense they do care about the user's experience because their profits are dependent on it. Do they really care about their customers? Of course not. But how are they "unique" in this regard to any other corporation? Do you think MS or Google care about their users? For that matter who is Google's customers? Their users or the advertisers?[/unique]

What's unique about Apple is that it's an integrated channel. They have control of your device and what you put on it (for the average joe soap) and the payment channels that you use.

Do you have figures to show that Apple's business is not about selling hardware? So far it would seem Apple make a very small profit from iTunes and the App Store. The percentage they take from developers goes into running the App Store. But I agree about subscriptions, the 30 percent they are planning to take there is probably too high. But that's for developers and publishers to worry about. Or is Apple supposed to care about them as well? They are a multinational electronics corporations ya know, not a philanthropy. Of course they want their slice of the pie.

I wouldn't characterise Apple as solely a hardware company. Yes, I'm sure the bulk of their revenues comes from there but their non-hardware activities - specificallu iTunes - can only get bigger and bigger. The scope of expanding iTunes to sell almost anything is there. You are certainly right about philantrophy - not an ounce of it in Apple or Steve Jobs.

So basically according to you, Apple are evil control freaks who don't care about their users, but Google are benign? Sounds to me like you are the apologist.

Compared with the Apple attitude Google are benign. What Google do is pretty obvious and they have their faults but at least people know what they do and how they operate. I'm not apologising for them as Apple are the ones at fault here.

Speaking of advertising, one wonders if there was a possible tie-in of this concealed info into the iAds platform.

I don't think any corporation cares about people and it's silly to attack either Apple or Google on that basis. But at least Apple's profits come from their users. Apple want to control their devices so they can stay ahead of their competitors and sell more of them. Google want to direct everyone back to their search engine and "free" services so they can collect more data and sell it to advertisers. Neither of them is really benign and you'd have to be a fanboy to think otherwise.

I'm not an Apple apologist, but do try and counter some of the silly sensationalist nonsense that some people spread about them and their devices.

You say that Apples profits come from their users - so does Googles.

There's no silly sensationalism here. Apple have been caught red handed capturing and storing private data on the devices they sell. They have doing this by design and have declared it as a feature to their customers. This is unethical and dishonest from a brand that prides itself as being a lighthouse brand with lofty values.

What this stored data will be used for is open to speculation but I would somewhat doubt it's for something like Seamus suggested earlier. It would most likely be used for some sort of location based marketing or advertising services e.g. iAds Anybody who is in this sphere would love this info - I can see you went to Tescos 4 times in a month spent X and an average 16 min journey time and so on.

If you're a conspiracy theory holder - the Pentagon will get it all.