Apple isn't only one tracking
BERLIN - SEPTEMBER 02: (FILE PHOTO) A visitor tries out the new Samsung Galaxy Tab, a product that has features and looks similar to the Apple iPad, at the Samsung stand at the 2010 IFA technology and consumer electronics trade fair at Messe Berlin on September 2, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The 2010 IFA will be open to the public from September 3-8. Apple is suing one of their rivals Samsung for allegedly copying the iPad and iPhone patents with their Galaxy Tab and Galaxy handsets. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Credit: Getty/Sean Gallup
In yet another belated panic over privacy, researchers have discovered that iPhones and iPads are tracking and logging where you go -- and they've released a free app that lets you see where you've been as revealed on your own device.
As it turns out, the existence of this data-file on Apple's devices has been known for a while. Apple has even told members of Congress that it gets information from its smartphones on the whereabouts of devices. The company discloses as much in its iPhone user agreement -- you know, all that legalese nobody ever reads. And it's not just Apple: Android phones reportedly send location information to Google.
We wish all this were more upsetting, but the truth is that personal privacy in this country was severely compromised long ago. Cellphone providers, for instance, also know where their users have been. The interests and yes, even the whereabouts of Internet users are tracked by their web-surfing habits. And creators of some iPhone apps gather data on their users.
All in all, businesses and credit reporting agencies enjoy a vast trove of data about American consumers, who have little say in what is gathered or how it is used. In many other nations, regulation is stricter. Worrying about the location services function on your smartphone at this late date is like worrying about your sodium intake while bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean.
But that doesn't mean we should relax. The latest episode demonstrates yet again the crying need for a serious discussion of consumer privacy in this country -- and serious protections that work in the digital age. hN
