British researchers announced that Apple’s iPhone has been secretly storing information that tracks the location history of the phone. The file is unencrypted and contains extensive GPS and wireless location information.
Alasdair Allen & Pete Warden, the researchers who discovered the existence of the file, were able to access it from a backup of the phone made using iTunes & stored on the computer. They were then able to map & visualize the data. The movie below shows one of the researchers travelling by train between Washington, DC and New York City.
Washington DC to New York from Alasdair Allan on Vimeo.
The file contains latitude-longitude coordinates along with a timestamp and contained thousands of entries. While Apple has yet to comment on the matter, the researchers cautioned that there was no indication that the information contained in the file was being transmitted or monitored by Apple or any other parties.
According to the Terms & Conditions for Apple’s iTunes software, Apple reserves the right to collect location data on its users: “Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services.”
The pair released iPhoneTracker, an open-source desktop application that allows anyone to visualize the GPS data being recorded by their own iPhone.