Yeah it’s not really a big deal but it’s just the whole freedom thing we don’t have
as already mentioned upthread, a phone is by definition a tracker. the issue is privacy not freedom, what little we’re left with living on the grid.
Would be kinda creepy if your spouse or someone were spying on you.
There’s a GRID??!! I don’t know my own coordinates. How can anyone else?
well, seeing as Android phones also do the same thing, i’m sure Google is working hard to make it easy for everyone to search everyone, in REAL time and SPACE!
If according to the article above it can’t locate accurately within 1500 meters then there is a disconnect between the idea of a locating app and the accuracy needed to make it work. Such an app suggests the phone is capable of fairly accurate information.
Of course, Michigan police seem to have a better understanding of what is on your cell phone, encrypted or not.
Yes, but seeing as my husband isn’t (and my laptop is password-protected anyway; it’s a strong password and he doesn’t have it), I’m still not worried personally. I’m all for knowing about this information as yes, it might affect some people, and knowing more about your phone is good anyway.
Hennessy: Yup, pretty much every semi-modern cell phone - not just smartphones - has a GPS tracker in it, and the phone company has access to that information at all times.
Magiver: I activated Find My iPhone and asked it to do just that, and it pegged my exact location. To track, someone needs to know the username (E-mail) and password that you use for iTunes - and you have to have the Find My iPhone app installed on your iPhone as well. Seeing as most people have a credit card tied to that info, it’s a good idea to keep that private anyway.
Yup, so true and Hitler was the nicest guy ever, never did a bad thing, all this bad press he got is just made up stuff and there was NO bad intension whatsoever.
I certainly have no problem if my phone tracks movements - but I want to know it, I want to be able to turn it on or off, have a choice… I would not want to find it out in the news. That’s what they usually call private intrusion or a peeping tom.
I’m not doing anything illegal, however it’s not Apples business what I do or where I do it.
I can see that it is helpful for stolen phones… criminal investigation etc… But it’s not 1984 Big Brother.
Actually, it’s not helpful for stolen iPhones (that’s the Find My iPhone app which is totally different) or criminal investigations, which would just go to your phone company and subpoena records. This system helps your iPhone find cell towers faster in the future - and Google’s doing it too. Information that’s only stored on your own phone and your own computer doesn’t assist in those other things.
And a Hitler comparison? During Passover, even? Seriously?
You mean for the next call if you’re still in the area, or are you talking about some kind of long-term reason?
The only reason I can see for storing a record of locations is for marketing, and devising systems for real-time social networking. The privacy issue here is in the hands of the phone company, not Apple or Google. To Apple and Google, your name or actual identity is irrelevant. Your phone number represents nothing more than one unit of purchasing potential, not a human being. Only the phone company can connect that number to who you actually are, and even then, to the phone company it merely is a link to a credit card number (if that’s how you pay). Privacy comes in when a third party like the police or other government entity then links these numbers together to create a person that has agency.
guizot - Since this information is not transmitted outside of your phone (barring a backup on your computer), the people studying this who’ve come to that conclusion seem to think it’s so your iPhone can find alternate cell towers faster the next time you’re in that area.
In a world where my computer has better face recognition than I do, it’s not surprising that your phone would know where it is better than you do…
Except it IS transmitted (and apparently Android OS does it too):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42717490/ns/technology_and_science-security/
From the cited article:
It says nothing about iPhones transmitting the data.
You mean other than the first sentence?
And later:
Apparently, the data gets sent to Apple if you agree to it: Tech Slurry: Actually, iPhone sends your location to Apple twice a day
And the process of “agree[ing] to it,” from your link, is more commonly known as “installing Itunes.”
This whole thing it shitty shit, but the worst part of it all is that the largest penalty – if any! – Apple, Google et al. will face is some paltry class-action suit 15 years down the road, amounting to $0.57/user. More likely, in my opinion, is that the penalty they’ll pay will simply be the price of the learning curve of being the first two companies to do such.
Ah cool, I always choose “no” when those things pop up.
I know what I’m more annoyed with. Apple (last I checked, which wasn’t long ago) completely ignores their support forums. For something that “just works,” it can be a fucking pain in the ass to figure out at times.
I don’t agree that the phone company has access to that information at all times.
The last three phones I worked on had the option to turn off the GPS receiver. It’s both for privacy and power management.
I have no idea if the cell companies have access to the data if you choose to enable it.
-D/a
I don’t have a smartphone, but I realize that with my cellphone, the phone company has a list of wherever I’ve carried my cellphone since I’ve had it (for years now).
With a smartphone, the company that makes the smartphone OS and my cellphone company can keep track of where I’ve been.
I would be more concerned about my cellphone provider being able to keep track, since that is something that would apply to any cell phone user, even people without smartphones. I never remember hearing a big outcry about that. Or maybe there was and I missed it.