Police Using Apple iOS Tracking Data For Forensics

Several readers have sent in follow-up articles to Wednesday's news that iPhone location data was being tracked and stored. First, it seems Android shares a similar problem, though the file containing the location data is "only accessible on devices that have been rooted and opened up to installation of unsigned apps." Developer Magnus Eriksson has created an app to flush this data. Next: the iPhone tracking file is not new, just in a different place than it used to be. Reader overThruster then points out a CNet story indicating that law enforcement has been aware of this file for some time, and has used it in a forensics context. This story is a growing concern for Apple, particularly now that Senator Al Franken (PDF) and Rep. Ed Markey (PDF) have both written letters to Steve Jobs demanding details about the location tracking. Finally, PCMag explains how to view the location data present on your iPhone, should you so desire.

Not so similar

[loconet]

Worth mentioning in Android's case is only used for caching so the data gets overwritten every so often. Unlike iPhone's

Android

[recoiledsnake]

First, it seems Android shares a similar problem, though the file containing the location data is "only accessible on devices that have been rooted and opened up to installation of unsigned apps

Doesn't Android just store the past few days information unlike years together like the iPhone?

Re:Senator Al Franken

[wall0645]

I voted for him in 2008, because he wasn't GOP and I wanted Obama to have a majority in the Senate. Little did I know he would be one of the biggest supporters of Net Neutrality. I am incredibly happy with my vote and not only can I say "Senator Al Franken" with a straight face, I can say it with pride when I say "I voted for Senator Al Franken, one of the best Senators currently in office."