Apple is recording your moves A hidden file in iOS 4 is regularly recording location

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Big Brother is watching all reps?

Will Novartis have access to the each IPAD's location data that Apple is now recording? Is this a privacy infringement? Who cares about leaving the house at 9 am, but I don't want it recording where I am during my PERSONAL and PRIVATE time away from work or on my way to or from the territory.

For instance - It is none of Novartis's business if I stop and meet a friend for a beer on the way home from working in the territory or drive to another town to pick up my kids.

Legally is this against my privacy rights?

Apple is recording your move - A hidden file in iOS 4 is regularly recording the position of devices. Got an iPhone or 3G iPad?

by Alasdair Allan | @aallan | +Alasdair Allan | Comments: 244 | 20 April 2011



Update, 4/27/11 — Apple has posted a response to questions raised in this report and others.

By Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden

Today at Where 2.0 Pete Warden and I will announce the discovery that your iPhone, and your 3G iPad, is regularly recording the position of your device into a hidden file. Ever since iOS 4 arrived, your device has been storing a long list of locations and time stamps. We're not sure why Apple is gathering this data, but it's clearly intentional, as the database is being restored across backups, and even device migrations.


A visualization of iPhone location data. Click to enlarge.

The presence of this data on your iPhone, your iPad, and your backups has security and privacy implications. We've contacted Apple's Product Security team, but we haven't heard back.

What makes this issue worse is that the file is unencrypted and unprotected, and it's on any machine you've synched with your iOS device. It can also be easily accessed on the device itself if it falls into the wrong hands. Anybody with access to this file knows where you've been over the last year, since iOS 4 was released.

In the following video, we discuss how the file was discovered and take a look at the data contained in the file. Further details are posted below.





What information is being recorded?

All iPhones appear to log your location to a file called "consolidated.db." This contains latitude-longitude coordinates along with a timestamp. The coordinates aren't always exact, but they are pretty detailed. There can be tens of thousands of data points in this file, and it appears the collection started with iOS 4, so there's typically around a year's worth of information at this point. Our best guess is that the location is determined by cell-tower triangulation, and the timing of the recording is erratic, with a widely varying frequency of updates that may be triggered by traveling between cells or activity on the phone itself.

Who has access to this data?

Don't panic. As we discuss in the video, there's no immediate harm that would seem to come from the availability of this data. Nor is there evidence to suggest this data is leaving your custody. But why this data is stored and how Apple intends to use it — or not — are important questions that need to be explored.
 






Re: Apple is recording your moves A hidden file in iOS 4 is regularly recording locat

Do you really think with all of the budget cuts that Novartis has time and resources to actually look at these files?
 












Re: Apple is recording your moves A hidden file in iOS 4 is regularly recording locat

Do you really think with all of the budget cuts that Novartis has time and resources to actually look at these files?

You bet they do. That is why they are having the budget cuts so they can pay people to do this shit.
 






Re: Apple is recording your moves A hidden file in iOS 4 is regularly recording locat

Absolutley they are tracking everyone. Its getting close to cutting time in the spring and if they do cut 40% this can help them indicate who stays and who goes. But for the last 3 years there has been more going than staying. Just remember with all the budget cuts, finaglin shenanigans, and products going generic they are up to something. Also, there were to many lawsuits in the last 4 years and Novartis maybe trying to cover their asses in case they have a case against someone. For example, what if a female sales rep is accused of not working and she decides to file a lawsuit against the company for gender discrimination as was the case these last couple of years. Oh how wonderful if they had record of her going to the hair saloon, getting the nails done, and mall shopping all before the stroke of 5 pm. Wow then they could build the case she wasnt working. Sneaky Sneaky. But thats the industry. Its all a cat & mouse game. Smoke & mirrors.
 












Re: Apple is recording your moves A hidden file in iOS 4 is regularly recording locat

Absolutley they are tracking everyone. Its getting close to cutting time in the spring and if they do cut 40% this can help them indicate who stays and who goes. But for the last 3 years there has been more going than staying. Just remember with all the budget cuts, finaglin shenanigans, and products going generic they are up to something. Also, there were to many lawsuits in the last 4 years and Novartis maybe trying to cover their asses in case they have a case against someone. For example, what if a female sales rep is accused of not working and she decides to file a lawsuit against the company for gender discrimination as was the case these last couple of years. Oh how wonderful if they had record of her going to the hair saloon, getting the nails done, and mall shopping all before the stroke of 5 pm. Wow then they could build the case she wasnt working. Sneaky Sneaky. But thats the industry. Its all a cat & mouse game. Smoke & mirrors.

You're an idiot! They already know who they're cutting this doesn't give them anything different then they already have. All sales people are at will employees and need very little reason for termination. The last thing the company will use is gps.
 






Re: Apple is recording your moves A hidden file in iOS 4 is regularly recording locat

Does it really matter? Are we hourly yet? Heck after Tek gets pulled do we have a place to go?