TwoTone Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Posting this in GD for good exposure... As privacy is a great concern for many of our members... TT iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go Privacy fears raised as researchers reveal file on iPhone that stores location coordinates and timestamps of owner's movements Charles Arthur - guardian.co.uk, - Wednesday 20 April 2011 14.06 BST Apple's iPhone saves every detail of your movements to a file on the device. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian Security researchers have discovered that Apple's iPhone keeps track of where you go – and saves every detail of it to a secret file on the device which is then copied to the owner's computer when the two are synchronised. The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone's recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner's movements using a simple program. For some phones, there could be almost a year's worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple's iOS 4 update to the phone's operating system, released in June 2010. "Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you've been," said Pete Warden, one of the researchers. Only the iPhone records the user's location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google's] Android phones and couldn't find any," said Warden. "We haven't come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this." Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, said: "This is a worrying discovery. Location is one of the most sensitive elements in anyone's life – just think where people go in the evening. The existence of that data creates a real threat to privacy. The absence of notice to users or any control option can only stem from an ignorance about privacy at the design stage." Warden and Allan point out that the file is moved onto new devices when an old one is replaced: "Apple might have new features in mind that require a history of your location, but that's our specualtion. The fact that [the file] is transferred across [to a new iPhone or iPad] when you migrate is evidence that the data-gathering isn't accidental." But they said it does not seem to be transmitted to Apple itself. Map shows location data collected from an iPhone that had been used in the southwest of England Although mobile networks already record phones' locations, it is only available to the police and other recognised organisations following a court order under the Regulation of Investigatory Power Act. Standard phones do not record location data. MPs in 2009 criticised the search engine giant Google for its "Latitude" system, which allowed people to enable their mobile to give out details of their location to trusted contacts. At the time MPs said that Latitude "could substantially endanger user privacy", but Google pointed out that users had to specifically choose to make their data available. The iPhone system, by contrast, appears to record the data whether or not the user agrees. Apple declined to comment on why the file is created or whether it can be disabled. Warden and Allan have set up a web page which answers questions about the file, and created a simple downloadable application to let Apple users check for themselves what location data the phone is retaining. The Guardian has confirmed that 3G-enabled devices including the iPad also retain the data and copy it to the owner's computer. If someone were to steal an iPhone and "jailbreak" it, giving them direct access to the files it contains, they could extract the location database directly. Alternatively, anyone with direct access to a user's computer could run the application and see a visualisation of their movements. Encrypting data on the computer is one way to protect against it, though that still leaves the file on the phone. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at the security company Sophos, said: "If the data isn't required for anything, then it shouldn't store the location. And it doesn't need to keep an archive on your machine of where you've been." He suggested that Apple might be hoping that it would yield data for future mobile advertising targeted by location, although he added: "I tend to subscribe to cockup rather than conspiracy on things like this – I don't think Apple is really trying to monitor where users are." The data inside the file containing the location and time information. This is used to plot the map above. The location file came to light when Warden and Allan were looking for a source of mobile data. "We'd been discussing doing a visualisation of mobile data, and while Alasdair was researching into what was available, he discovered this file. At first we weren't sure how much data was there, but after we dug further and visualised the extracted data, it became clear that there was a scary amount of detail on our movements," Warden said. The pair of data scientists have collaborated on a number of data visualisations, including a map of radiation levels in Japan for The Guardian. They are developing a Data Science Toolkit for dealing with location data. Davies said that the discovery of the file indicated that Apple had failed to take users' privacy seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zeleni kukuruz Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I have the iphone, im no terrorist so i dont care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 For the record, most cell phones contain a similar feature. There are 2 ways to disable it - locate the chip containing the programming code & hack it (out) or turn the phone off (the tracking system can only work when the phone is powered on). In a similar vein, did you also know that all printers encode a hidden signature/timestamp on every page you print? So the next time you want to print out that ransom or hold-up note, consider using a pencil (& 25+ year old paper - most paper these days is invisibly water marked for identification). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoTone Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Actually according to the article and a little further research that's not the case... The carrier keeps a log on all smart phones for "official" use... The iPhone is the only smart phone that stores this information locally on the unit itself and on the synching computer, for anyone who has access to either to view... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanshogun Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I can file this one under #care The iPhone is just so damn good I don't really care. Oh no! apple know I go to pret! run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txcollector Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 carriers maintain logs of where your phone is at all times by logging the towers that are servicing your phone. There are several legitime reasons to to so like analyzing network loads, quality of calls and improvements need for service. They also use that to provide customer service (some do better than others). They also keep all your text messages, phone numbers that interact with your phone (numbers you call, numbers that call you, numbers involved in txt) and how long each call took. That's just standard data collection. Now the scary part. Depending on the type of investigation needed they can also track conversations involving multiple parties (you call a friend, that friend calls someone else, etc.) and your actual voice conversation can be analyzed in multiple languages. Oh yes and all of that in real time. If you are using an electronic device today be sure you are being tracked somehow. That's just the price of modern life. Wait until your car insurance company starts to mandate you put a GPS in your car so they know how dangerous of a driver you are (speeding, where you go, what time of day, etc.) Some companies already offer a discount today if you do it voluntarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Actually according to the article and a little further research that's not the case... I could be wrong, but the info I posted came from a friend in law enforcement (who routinely uses this info in court). Also, the ECU (computer) in modern cars records a number of parameters about your driving style that could be used against you. In our modern world, Big Brother is definitely right around the corner (& already watching). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upland Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Oh no, ROLEX SA with subpoena can track me to the Canal street Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 It's amazing how desensitized people are these days about privacy. I think our right to privacy will be erased from the books in about ten years but who cares anyways...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txcollector Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I think our right to privacy will be erased from the books in about ten years but who cares anyways...... it's so cute you think you still have any Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Oh and BTW, Apple essentially has r00t access to every iphone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgn1017 Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 I had no idea this was going on routinely! Is it 1985 yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhitesox Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 I tried this on my iphone and NADA...Load of ol [censored]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 carriers maintain logs of where your phone is at all times by logging the towers that are servicing your phone. yes they definitely know which tower you are talking to. but that covers a wide area. the iphone (if the story is true) is triangulating your exact location and recording it. being able to say "he's within 2 miles of X" is different than being able to say "he walked in to building X at 8:29:07". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HauteHippie Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 For the record, most cell phones contain a similar feature. There are 2 ways to disable it - locate the chip containing the programming code & hack it (out) or turn the phone off (the tracking system can only work when the phone is powered on). not really. most phones don't have a gps. i think you're referring to carrier logs. not firmware tracking on the phone. however, most phones do have at least one way to determine your location, but the concern here is over secretly logging it. if i swiped your iphone, i could see everywhere you've been for the past year or more, which is creepy. if somebody swipes my cheapo candy bar phone he doesn't have access to historical location data. i wonder how many criminals / cheating spouses with recently seized iphones are shitting their pants about now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikki6 Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 If you are concerned about security on your phone think on this. What do you do with your old phones when you get the newest super duper one?! Go on the 'Bay, sell on a Forum, such as the one in our sales Forum, sell to one of the 'enviro friendly' put it in an envelope send it to us and we'll send you cash' companies, or maybe just give it to a friend? Whatever you do with it, you should know that pretty much everything you have done with that phone is still held on a chip within the phone. It can store your bank details, passwords, texts, emails, you name it, you can find it if you know where to look!! Why do you think phones go for the money they do on the 'Bay? Buyers who know this will know that at least 3 out of 5 phones will have info on them that is worth 10x's what they paid for it if sold to the right ( or wrong depending on your point of view) people. Easiest way to get around it, or wipe it, is to reset to factory settings! Only way to delete it all! But the fact is, as TX said above, there is no real privacy anymore! These phones these days are basically mini net books, they have the functionality of a laptop or net book, so obviously it's going to pick up a lot more info than say your old Nokia 5500!! The new Iphone 4 is basically a stripped down blade server almost! These things have huge power, just because they're small doesn't mean they don't bite!! Sixx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 it's so cute you think you still have any Haha... I actually never said I had any. But people can take steps to prevent people from snooping and companies from recording private information. If I had an iPhone I would always have it password protected and remote wipe activated. And even if you have it password protected all you need to do is jailbreak and you have every password they have ever saved.... hence remote wipe. The only problem is a smart thief will steal it and turn it off. Get home and take out the sim card or drive to a place with no service. Anyways, not much you can do about privacy issues today but being knowledgeable about it is the least you can do. The "I don't care" people I have no sympathy for when it comes to their accounts being hacked and their credit cards fraudulently charged.... no sympathy at all. If you take safety precautions and care about your online identity there are a lot of preventive measures you can take. I use last pass plus two step Google authentication .... that's enough security to where I'm just too much of a hassle for most thief's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossbones Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Just download "UNTRACKERD" in Cydia. Ryan Petrich released the utility, which blocks iOS and Apple’s ability to log your device’s location information. This package installs a daemon (process that can run in the background) to clean consolidated.db file) No new icons are added to your homescreen. There are no options to configure. I will add it to the repo tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Awesome crossbones. Another great reason to jailbreak. Probably gonna do this for my gf's iPhone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w0lf Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 i just put tinfoil on my iphone so they cant find me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoTone Posted April 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2011 http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/382786/you-didnt-read-it#tab=featured Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now