# Your iPhone is recording everywhere you go **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105 "2011-04-20T17:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/21 "2011-04-20T19:08:27Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > After all, my (Android) phone was set to a default that would immediately upload pictures to Photobucket automatically without asking me, right after being taken. If there’s a location marker on the photo file, there you go. So, my sordid night of kinky hanky-panky has been uploaded to Photobucket? :eek: I keed. But seriously, that’s a default option? That would piss me off. Does it create some Photobucket account or something for you? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/22 "2011-04-20T19:12:48Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Does this file ever get re-initialized? Seems like it would eventually eat up a ton of memory. Depends on how often the location is logged. I suspect the file isn’t that big–after all, it’s just a time and location coordinate, how big could it be, unless that log file is constantly being written to? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/23 "2011-04-20T19:18:50Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > After all, my (Android) phone was set to a default that would immediately upload pictures to Photobucket automatically without asking me, right after being taken. Are you sure about this? Seems unlikely that an Android default would be to upload to Photobucket rather than Picasa. Also, I’ve used Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3, and that isn’t anything like the default photo behaviour. What version you on? ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/24 "2011-04-20T19:35:14Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > I was looking into this awhile back when I noticed the Apple “Mobile Me” was always coming up in my sync and I had never downloaded it. Sadly, this is freaky but not unexpected from a GIANT corporation like Apple. People love Apple because it’s hip, fun, easy to use, and “everyone will like me if I have one” - but they miss the point when in reality, Apple is just another GIANT corporation vying for a piece of the pie. > [@quixotic78](#): > > Uh oh, you’ve done it now. You’ve summoned all the Apple fanboys (and girls) who are now going to tell us how this corporate choice is actually good for us. > > … > > Actually, I’m really curious to see what the fanboys come up with! Thanks, **Phlosphr**! Okay, I’ll take the bait. Seriously you two, the sky is not falling. “MobileMe” is just the name of Apple’s cloud service, which has been around for much longer than the iPhone (under different names). It’s true you didn’t download it; it came with the operating system, just like “Calendar,” “iTunes,” and “Photos” did. Why not write frightened posts about those? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/25 "2011-04-20T19:42:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Depends on how often the location is logged. I suspect the file isn’t that big–after all, it’s just a time and location coordinate, how big could it be, unless that log file is constantly being written to? Hmm, peeking through the actual database, it appears that the file is around 25 MB. So far as I can tell, there’s almost 16,000 location data points since June 24, 2010. ETA: It’s a bit unclear to me what this means, exactly, as there’s sometimes a hundred rows in the database with exactly the same timestamp. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/26 "2011-04-20T20:03:58Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > Okay, I’ll take the bait. > > Seriously you two, the sky is not falling. “MobileMe” is just the name of Apple’s cloud service, which has been around for much longer than the iPhone (under different names). It’s true you didn’t download it; it came with the operating system, just like “Calendar,” “iTunes,” and “Photos” did. Why not write frightened posts about those? You didn’t take the bait at all. You just said that MobileMe is old and is part of the OS. There’s nothing even there to refute; it’s just non sequitir. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/27 "2011-04-20T20:32:47Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It doesn’t even use GPS. It just uses cell tower locations. I don’t even know how specific this info is. I’m guessing not very. You would be guessing wrong. the iPhone uses cell towers for their positioning/mapping software instead of GPS. It’s pretty accurate. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/28 "2011-04-20T20:35:21Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > You would be guessing wrong. the iPhone uses cell towers for their positioning/mapping software instead of GPS. It’s pretty accurate. Only the very first iPhone. All later versions use GPS primarily, and Wifi / GSM as additional location input. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/29 "2011-04-20T20:41:36Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > On Google maps you can see flags for pictures taken at a particular location. Sometimes I wonder if the person who took the picture even knows it’s there. After all, my (Android) phone was set to a default that would immediately upload pictures to Photobucket automatically without asking me, right after being taken. If there’s a location marker on the photo file, there you go. Up until recently (and still for most cameras) if you wanted location information tagged to your photos you used an external GPS and a software program to add that data to the information file so I’m pretty sure that most of those users know the information is there. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/30 "2011-04-20T20:43:20Z")
Great. Now Apple knows I have no life. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/31 "2011-04-20T20:44:54Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Great. Now Apple knows I have no life. LOL good point. God they’d be so bored by mine unless the brief trips on the subway convinced them I was up to something 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/32 "2011-04-20T21:06:55Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Only the very first iPhone. > All later versions use GPS primarily, and Wifi / GSM as additional location input. The technology at the heart of this thread seems to use cell phone tower triangulation. From [here](http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/ispy-conspiracy-your-iphone-is-secretly-tracking-everywhere-youve-been.php?ref=fpblg): > [@](#): > > The data itself is jarringly accurate. Even though it appears to rely on tower triangulation rather than GPS pinpointing (meaning you’re not safe with location services switched off)… So there’s literally no way to NOT be tracked by Apple if you own an iPhone. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/33 "2011-04-20T21:14:23Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > You didn’t take the bait at all. You just said that MobileMe is old and is part of the OS. There’s nothing even there to refute; it’s just non sequitir. Let me make it more explicit for you. “I agree that the iPhone is very intrusive. Just look at MobileMe! It downloads itself onto your phone, and it records your life!” Here, the implicit premises are 1) that MobileMe downloads itself onto your phone, and 2) that MobileMe was developed for, or is used for, making the device more intrusive. I merely stated that both these premises are false. How is that a non sequitur? It directly addresses your point (or at least the point you espouse). And while we’re discussing logical fallacies, you might look up [poisoning the well](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_the_well). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/34 "2011-04-20T21:19:08Z")
Wow, this fits in so neatly with [another thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=605475) to create a giant government conspiracy. The other thread is about technology that some police agencies have acquired to snoop cell phone data without the knowledge of the cell phone owners. So Big Brother can point this gizmo at you and suck up all your data without you ever being the wiser. I haven’t even tried to find out whether the average Joe can buy this stuff or not. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/35 "2011-04-20T21:30:31Z")
> **[How Apple tracks your location without consent, and why it matters](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2011/04/how-apple-tracks-your-location-without-your-consent-and-why-it-matters/)** > > A log file on your 3G-enabled iPhone or iPad shows nearly every place you've … That’s an article at Ars Tech that talks about it in detail. No, you can’t disable this. You can encrypt the backup on your computer but the copy on your phone is unencrypted. That said, the only way to access the copy on the phone itself is on a jailbroken phone with access to root. As for what they’re doing with it … probably nothing nefarious. Probably just tracking cellphone coverage for internal use. Apple didn’t comment to Ars but I expect that they’ll claim this tracking is covered by the user’s opt in for GPS tracking. Still. the article notes that Apple told congress last year that all its tracking information was purely anonymous and required the users’ consent - this new triangulation tracking is neither of those things. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/36 "2011-04-20T21:38:21Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > How is that a non sequitur? It directly addresses your point (or at least the point you espouse). And while we’re discussing logical fallacies, you might look up [poisoning the well](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_the_well). It’s a non sequitur because the word “MobileMe” does not appear in the thread linked from the OP. This is a different beast. You might as well be talking about World of Warcraft, for all the bearing it has on this discussion. You can assert, if you’d like, that this newly revealed functionality is the same as MobileMe, but you’d appear to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/37 "2011-04-20T21:42:29Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > Given that Apple implemented this non-optional plan without telling anyone, might it stand to reason that they might similarly, in the future, make it so your location history uploads to Apple HQ? At which point, they can sell it to some marketing firm, who can then sell it to whomever they choose. > > Does that (currently non-existent, but IMO very likely) scenario bug you at all? It bugs me. I also would not be at all surprised to learn that at some point Apple drops a few lines into page 47 of the EULA stating that by using their phone, you agree to allow them to collect and sell your location information, and that you avow that this will constitute an existing business relationship, and therefore the “Do Not Call Register” does not apply. I’m definately of a pre-Facebook generation, and to me, privacy does still matter, even if all I’m doing is staying home and painting my nails. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/38 "2011-04-20T21:44:01Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > It’s a non sequitur because the word “MobileMe” does not appear in the thread linked from the OP. This is a different beast. You might as well be talking about World of Warcraft, for all the bearing it has on this discussion. You can assert, if you’d like, that this newly revealed functionality is the same as MobileMe, but you’d appear to be wrong. No, but **Phlosphr** ’s post mentions it, so the clarification by **Randy** on what MobileMe actually does is appropriate. It has nothing to do with what is being discussed in the OP, but Phlosphr’s post makes it sound like MobileMe has some nefarious purpose and somehow forced its way onto his iPhone, even though it’s been there all along. ---
**Author:** ![Sehmket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Sehmket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sehmket)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/39 "2011-04-20T23:30:09Z")
I work at an Apple iOS call center, and this issue was our big headache today - tons of people calling in freaking out about us tracking them. One thing I CAN promise folks - there is no tool that exists to let the tech support folks track the phones. Some days I wish it WERE that easy - “Yes, ma’am, looks like your phone is located at 101 Vine St, 3rd floor” - but us ground-floor grunts don’t have access to anything like that. (For that matter, neither do the higher-level tech support folks, nor the Customer Relations folks, nor any other department my team talks to on a regular basis). All we can do, however, is help you set up Find My iPhone/ iPad/ iPod on MobileMe before you misplace your phone. Complete speculation, but I see two ways this has gotten into iOS - one, someone was fiddling around with code and trying to see what it could do without fully thinking about the ramifications; or, two, it’s data-mining for advertising. I lean towards option two. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105/40 "2011-04-20T23:36:41Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > So there’s literally no way to NOT be tracked by Apple if you own an iPhone. One, leave it a home. Two, wrap it in aluminum foil. See, those tin hat people were onto something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-iphone-is-recording-everywhere-you-go/579105.md?page=3)