Exactly What Does Your iPhone or iPad Record About You?

20.04.2011
The revelation today that Apple iPhones and 3G-enabled iPads tracks and in an easily accessed file has created . But how serious of a threat to your privacy is this data and who could be using it?

The first thing to know is that the data is not nearly as accurate as you might be imagining. The best guess of the is that information on cell towers is collected rather than the more specific data that would come from the iPhone's GPS. This means that the phone or iPad "only" tracks you to the nearest tower instead of to within a few feet. (Apple still hasn't responded directly about then entire issue.)

The data on my phone certainly seems to support that theory. Here's what my usage in the New York City area looks like when mapped with the iPhone Tracker app:

However, if I wasn't supposed to be flying out of JFK Airport in Queens, the screenshot clearly shows that I was there or near there multiple times. However, the exact spot can't be pinpointed.

So, in highly compact areas like major cities, it'll be hard to pull personal details out from the collected date. Even though the location data is time-stamped, you'd be hard-pressed to figure out exactly where I live or work, for instance, since the cell towers my phone connects to cover so many blocks.

The location logs also seem to go a bit crazy sometimes when the phone is having problems getting a signal. This further muddies the data.