Why did they do this? Because they could? If you have an iPhone or iPad, your location has been logged, and time-stamped, up to 1000 times a day. Might that data be of interest to any number of persons, some of them bent toward ill will?
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) has sent a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs asking why they did it, how they do it, and why didn't they tell us they did it.
This could open an interesting can of worms. For starters, my guess is that all, or nearly all, of the other smartphones do the same thing. Did the request for this feature possibly come from the government?
In any case, the information can be hacked, with consequences that range from unpleasant to life-threatening. Hack the details of a person's daily routine and kidnapping, for example, is oh-so-much easier.
UPDATE: Androids do it too.
A buddy of mine who works in technology and security says that all phones do this, thanks to the Emergency 911 tracking law that requires phones to make location information available to police when 911 is dialed. So, it's not a tracking "problem," because the law requires tracking. Rather, its a data security problem.
Posted by: Chris Duckworth | April 22, 2011 at 10:03 AM
When one loves one's art no service seems too hard.
O.Henry, American novelist
Posted by: clear tinnitus | April 23, 2011 at 01:29 AM
Hi Chris, I'm also told that people agree to being tracked when they sign the Terms of Service. Still wondering whose idea it was.
Posted by: John Petty | April 25, 2011 at 11:41 AM