This past week several college students discovered that inside the iPhone there is a file that is “tracking” where its user went. This has some people on edge because Apple, until now, gave no explanation as to what the data was from or what it was being used for. The speculations given was that they may have been using the data to track your habits such as store you visit and other places you go to help them market better.
Today Apple gave an explanation as to what the data was actually for however. Apple said that the phones actually use the data to record wireless hotspots and cellphone tower locations to help the user’s phones provide better service. While this sounds like a logical explanation there are some people, such as some of congress that are pushing to have a Federal investigation into the software maker’s privacy policies in order to ensure the confidentiality of the users.
All in all if you are going to have a phone with GPS capabilities (like a smart phone), you better realize it is possible for your phone carrier to see where your phone is at all times. It will be interesting to see what all comes of the possible investigations over the next few months however because keeping this type of information a user’s consent is against privacy regulations.