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Apple Lays Out Location Collection Policies
itwbennett writes "In a 13-page reply (PDF) to questions from Congressmen Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Joe Barton of Texas, Apple said iPhones running OS 3.2 or iOS 4 collect GPS data and encrypt it before sending it back to Apple every 12 hours via Wi-Fi. Attached to the GPS data is a random identification number generated by the phone every 24 hours. The information is not associated with a particular customer and Apple uses the data to analyze traffic patterns and density, it said. Apple collects such data from customers who have approved the use of location-based capabilities on the phone and who actually use an application that requires GPS."
If you guys are comfortable letting Apple or anyone else have this, it's just because your brain hasn't digested what it means yet. Don't worry, wait for the first few scandals. It will take a few years - maybe long enough for every asshole company to start doing this. But it will get easier to understand.
I voluntarily send my location to Google every 2 hours (via Latitude). Why should I care if they know where I am? I mean, what exactly are you, some kind of spy?
Nobody cares where *you* are. You're just not that important. Sorry to bust your ego-bubble.
They only really care where people are in aggregate. That information is far more useful.
And if where you are does actually matter, then *turn it off*. Simple enough to do, really.
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.