Security researchers Pete Warden and Alasdair Allen have discovered that the iPhone keeps a complete record of your movements, with timestamped coordinates. Scary stuff.
The information doesn’t appear to be sent back to Apple, but it is retained if you buy a new iPhone and migrate your data. It’s also copied to your computer if you choose to sync your iPhone with it.
Pete says: "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.”
The recording of users’ whereabouts apparently started with iOS 4, meaning there could be up to 10 months of position-monitoring stored on the phone.
More and more apps are location-aware these days, but the big difference here is that iPhone users don’t have the option to opt out. Unsurprisingly, Apple has yet to comment.
Head over to petewarden.github.com for more information. You can also download an app that extracs the info from your iPhone 4 and plots it on a map. Awesome stuff.
via: The Guardian
