Recently confirmed news reports say that the iPhone and iPads with 3G capabilities are storing location information, and even tracking users without their consent or awareness. Apple said that users have the option to opt out of the tracking by turning off the global Location Services in the settings menu. However, this does not seem to be the case according to a test carried out by The Wall Street Journal.
The report says that location information is being tracked by near-by cellphone towers and Wi-Fi access points and don’t appear to be transmitted back to Apple.
The Journal tested the collection of data on an iPhone 4 that had been restored to factory settings and was running the latest version of iOS. They disabled location services (which are on by default) and immediately recorded the data that had initially been gathered by the phone. They then carried the phone to new locations and observed the data. Over the span of several hours as the phone was moved, it continued to collect location data from new places.
Some of the data that was gathered included coordinates, although not as accurate, and corresponding timestamps, which will no doubt grab the attention of the general public concerned about their privacy.
