At the time MPs said that Latitude "could substantially endanger user privacy", but Google pointed out that users had to specifically choose to make their data available. MPs in 2009 criticised the search engine giant Google for its "Latitude" system, which allowed people to enable their mobile to give out details of their location to trusted contacts. Standard phones do not record location data. Map shows location data collected from an iPhone that had been used in the southwest of EnglandĪlthough mobile networks already record phones' locations, it is only available to the police and other recognised organisations following a court order under the Regulation of Investigatory Power Act. The fact that is transferred across when you migrate is evidence that the data-gathering isn't accidental." But they said it does not seem to be transmitted to Apple itself. Warden and Allan point out that the file is moved onto new devices when an old one is replaced: "Apple might have new features in mind that require a history of your location, but that's our specualtion. The absence of notice to users or any control option can only stem from an ignorance about privacy at the design stage." The existence of that data creates a real threat to privacy.
Location is one of the most sensitive elements in anyone's life – just think where people go in the evening. Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, said: "This is a worrying discovery. "We haven't come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this." "Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in Android phones and couldn't find any," said Warden. Only the iPhone records the user's location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. "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," said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.
For some phones, there could be almost a year's worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple's iOS 4 update to the phone's operating system, released in June 2010.
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