An Apple a day?

[Cynical Ninja]

1 out of 3 is not very good Opie, do you miss your pets?

[Duchess]

[shitstorm]

Apple Sued Over iPhone Tracking

Two men have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple over the location-based services provided in iOS 4. The practice puts users at a serious risk of privacy invasions and stalking, they argued.

"Apple collects the location information covertly, surreptitiously, and in violations of law," according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Florida district court.

The issue of iPhone tracking made headlines last week when two researchers published a blog post that said iOS 4+ devices collect a users' location in an unencrypted file known as "consolidated.db." It's no secret that Apple collects this data to serve up location-based services, but the researchers were concerned that this information is stored in an insecure manner, and transferred to a user's PC when they sync their iOS device.

Apple has not issued an official statement on the matter, but when a user emailed Jobs about it and mentioned that his Android phone does not collect location information, Jobs reportedly responded: "Oh yes they do. We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false." <-LIE

cont., http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384301,00.asp

[Duchess]

I've been randomly asking people I know how they feel about this & it's been unanimous, no one cares. Hahaha. The most common reply is, why would anyone care about them & I admit to feeling the same way.

[shitstorm]

I've been randomly asking people I know how they feel about this & it's been unanimous, no one cares. Hahaha. The most common reply is, why would anyone care about them & I admit to feeling the same way.

It's a mistake not to care. It's just that people don't see where this tracking of people can lead. A few years ago, this technology would have been laughed off as something that never would happen and it WILL get more intrusive. A lot of people don't care that they get irradiated and molested by TSA agents, either. Some would probably consent to a monthly search of their homes, too. Some will gladly have a chip implanted when it's sold to them as something that makes life more convenient. Let me ask you this, Duchess: How would you feel if you thought that Apple might sell your info to a govt that wanted to know how many times you've been to the gun store to buy ammo? That happening is no more impossible than a phone that tracks your every move. It's those kinds of possibilities that anyone who cares about their rights needs to consider.

[Fibonacci Prima]

Can the tracking be disabled by the user? And does it only work if the user installs one of those "look where I am!" apps or is it always running?

Another reason to go htc....

[Duchess]

Let me ask you this, Duchess: How would you feel if you thought that Apple might sell your info to a govt that wanted to know how many times you've been to the gun store to buy ammo? That happening is no more impossible than a phone that tracks your every move. It's those kinds of possibilities that anyone who cares about their rights needs to consider.

The govt already knows I have guns in my home, right? I'm going to assume they know ammo will be purchased for them, they are aware of CCW too, I honestly don't have a problem with that, I'm not concerned.

Most people know that devices they own can track them, my thought is that people who are concerned shouldn't purchase those types of things then.

[shitstorm]

Can the tracking be disabled by the user? And does it only work if the user installs one of those "look where I am!" apps or is it always running?

Another reason to go htc....

It's discussed in that link I posted. It sounds like it can't be turned off. I know you're supposed to be able to turn off the GPS but it looks like Apple devised something hidden and made not turn offable.

My ex was a great private detective who was a master at getting personal info on people. Back before all of this technology was out there he told me that the future was in tracking people and selling their information. I didn't believe him.

[Fibonacci Prima]

I don't go anywhere interesting enough to track, but it's still not apple's beezwax.

[shitstorm]

The govt already knows I have guns in my home, right? I'm going to assume they know ammo will be purchased for them, they are aware of CCW too, I honestly don't have a problem with that, I'm not concerned.

Most people know that devices they own can track them, my thought is that people who are concerned shouldn't purchase those types of things then. [/i][/size]

The govt only knows about registered weapons. Lots of people have guns that are not registered. I think what you may not be envisioning is the possibility of a future where we have a govt that wants to take your guns and ammo away.

[Duchess]

I think what you may not be envisioning is the possibility of a future where we have a govt that wants to take your guns and ammo away.

That will never happen in America.

[shitstorm]

I don't go anywhere interesting enough to track, but it's still not apple's beezwax.

^^THIS

Nobody needs a reason to claim the right to move about without being tracked, other than it's a fundamental human right. Many argue, "if you're not doing anything wrong you shouldn't mind, etc". Well, then, why have a fourth amendment?

[shitstorm]

I think what you may not be envisioning is the possibility of a future where we have a govt that wants to take your guns and ammo away.

That will never happen in America.

It will never happen that anyone would succeed in taking away our right to bear arms, or it will never happen that someone would try to?

[Duchess]

No one will ever succeed in taking away our right to bear arms.

[BlueTiki]

No one will ever succeed in taking away our right to bear arms.

Until they outlaw tank-tops and overalls.

   

[shitstorm]

No one will ever succeed in taking away our right to bear arms.

But you could agree that a govt would try? That's the point I'm making and it's one of the reasons that privacy is important.

[shitstorm]

Can the tracking be disabled by the user? And does it only work if the user installs one of those "look where I am!" apps or is it always running?

Another reason to go htc....

Looks like they're in a competition over who can be the ultimate Big Brother.


Like Apple and Google, Microsoft collects records of the physical locations of customers who use its mobile operating system.

Windows Phone 7, supported by manufacturers including Dell, HTC, LG, Nokia, and Samsung, transmits to Microsoft a miniature data dump including a unique device ID, details about nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the phone's GPS-derived exact latitude and longitude.

A Microsoft representative was not immediately able to answer questions that CNET posed this afternoon, including how long the location histories are stored and how frequently the phone's coordinates are transmitted over the Internet. Windows Phone currently claims about a 6 percent market share but, according to IDC, will capture about 21 percent by 2015 thanks to Microsoft's partnership with Nokia.

Microsoft does say, however, that location histories are not saved directly on the device. That's different from Apple's practice of recording the locations of visible cell towers on iPhone and iPad devices, which can result in more than a year's worth of data being quietly logged. Google's approach, by contrast, records only the last few dozen locations on Android phones.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-200573...z1KfDExzXa


The only ones who avoid this shit are those who don't use the products or the hacker types who know how to outsmart the the spying.

[Methusala]

To no one in particular:

IMHO - This is a big joke.

Here we were weeks and weeks ago discussing on the Clarke and Straub case how "we all knew" that everyone involved who carried a cell phone can be tracked by cell towers' triangulation through cell company records; and how smug we all were to think that the "bad guys" were too dumb to realize that;

and now when there is an apparently "slow news day" slow enough to get all the major news sources "reporting" that cell phones track their users, well "oh my, what a shock!" "How dare they?" "Our constitutional rights have been violated!" "How could they have kept this a secret from us?"

Well duh, if you want to carry a cell phone wherever you go, be assured that your location is now and always has been tracked and recorded - get that, "tracked and recorded" from the dawn of the day of the first cell phone to this day and every day forward.

If you don't like it, don't carry a cell phone. Instead, why not amuse yourself by carrying around your well-thumbed copy of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is sure to impress your friends, and maybe even a few strangers.

[Fibonacci Prima]

Oh my god! How did you know I carry the constitution with me everywhere?! Are you tracking me?

[shitstorm]

No, Methusala, this is not the same as the carrier having a record that is only available with a warrant. In the case of Apple, it's unencrypted data stored on the device. Apple may "may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device."