Apple exec to Senate: ‘Apple does not track users’ locations’

By on May 10, 2011 at 6:35 PM
mobile May 10, 2011

While testifying before the U.S. Congress today, Apple’s vice president of software technology, Bud Tribble, tried to clarify concerns that Apple had been tracking owners of its iPhone and iPad Wi-Fi + 3G. Apple has said in the past that it does not track its users and it also recently issued iOS 4.3.3, which reduces and encrypts the crowd-sourced location database cache, but Tribble explained the story in a bit more detail:

We do not share customer information with third parties without our customers’ explicit consent. Apple does not track users’ locations. Apple has never done so and has no plans to do so. An Apple device does not send to Apply any specific information associated with a user. The purpose of the cache is to allow the device to more quickly and reliably respond to location requests. Apple was never tracking an individual user’s location. The data seen on the iPhone was not the location past or present of the iPhone, but the location of cell towers surrounding the phone. Although the cache was not encrypted, it was protected from other apps on the phone.

According to 9to5 Mac, Tribble also explained to the U.S. Congress that, as we know, the iPhone and 3G iPad are able to determine a user’s location using triangulation between nearby Wi-Fi hotspots or cell phone towers.

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  • Yah-sure

    lol

  • TOMMMMMM

    “The data seen on the iPhone was not the location past or present of the
    iPhone, but the location of cell towers surrounding the phone.”

    Wow, and in other news, the data seen on the iPhone GPS was not the location past or present of the iPhone, but the location 3m surrounding the phone.

    Really, more word play Apple?

    • Anonymous

      You must get fantastic reception being 3m from a cell tower at all times.

      • Anonymous

        Ha!!!! Good one. Fanboys don’t know how to spell or abbreviate unless it starts with ‘i’……

      • Anonymous

        I would probably feel the need to defend myself if I had the slightest clue what you were trying to call me out on.

      • http://www.threeboy.net Threeboy

        Trolling, there’s an app for that.

      • Anonymous

        We are talking meters here aren’t we? And not miles?

        /Is in a country that uses the metric system

    • Steve Hillshire

      “Although the cache was not encrypted, it was protected from other apps on the phone”

      I don’t suppose this clown saw the “app for that”, did he?

      Apple exec caught with pants down, film at 11. Ewww

      • Anonymous

        Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the app for jailbroken phones?

  • http://www.threeboy.net Threeboy

    …and the media is dumb for blowing it out of proportion so people who don’t understand these things freaked out.

    • Anonymous

      And the people who don’t understand these things are dumb for …um…not trying to understand these things.

      • http://www.threeboy.net Threeboy

        iPhones cached your location (or cell towers close to you) to a file on your phone but by the time the media reports went around idiots were running around shouting “HURR HURR APPLE KNOWS WHEN YOU POOP”. It’s not that big of a deal. Props to Apple for quickly updating iOS anyway.

        I don’t own a Mac.

  • Anonymous

    Apple does not track users’ locations’. This is another thing that’s twisted and blown out of proportion. What did Google say? Google was also questioned at the hearing about their tracking of users.

    • Anonymous

      “Check it out! The Google Prediction API learns where you need to go by tracking your movements! Also, open.”

  • http://twitter.com/djbtam djbtam

    Buuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllllll shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh%$

  • serpentor

    Wow, dude just perjured himself, but I don’t think Senators know enough about tech to know the difference.

    • Anonymous

      … or the law.

    • http://www.threeboy.net Threeboy

      “The internet isn’t a dump truck you just put things on ITS A SERIES OF TUBES”

    • http://pileofnearmisses.tumblr.com pileofnearmisses

      Either that, or you don’t know the difference between Apple the company and a local iPhone positioning algorithm, my GI Joe loving friend.

  • Michael Scrip

    Is tracking people the same thing as your iPhone recording some location info?

    And… if this data is ever sent to Apple… is it anonymous? Or does it say “Jim Smith was here” ?

    • http://www.threeboy.net Threeboy

      They weren’t tracking anyone. Steve Jobs couldn’t load up his master app and see the location of all the people using iOS. It logged locations to a file on the phone – it was unencrypted so someone could steal your phone, dump the file and see where you’ve been. If that worries you stop going to the strip club 10 times a day.

      The data should be anonymous however I read a few articles recently saying that it’s possible for apps to cross reference your device ID to your Facebook profile which could potentially reveal your identity if you’re trying to be anonymous – who knows what kind of madness that’ll spark.

      • Michael Scrip

        Ok cool. I didn’t think Apple knew the positions of every iPhone user.

        The carriers do… but that’s a different story altogether ;)

      • http://www.threeboy.net Threeboy

        That’s it – I’m going back to two cans and a string.

  • Anonymous

    This is Absolute iPerjury and he should be burned at the stake and his body gibbeted for iHeresy and High Treason.

  • Ismileo

    Senators want to know how they can track citizens.

  • http://samsunggalaxys2blog.com/ Alejandro

    yeah, SJ doesnt,Droid does

  • Anonymous

    No tracking you say…i guess thats why there was a fix for this non-issue. So if apple does not track anyones data than i guess that toyota should not issued a recall on all of those Pirus that had the brakes issue, i mean it was just a few people that had the problem right.

    • Anonymous

      Tracking is not the same as storing.

    • Anonymous

      Catch a Clue, NO DATA WAS SENT TO APPLE!!!! The Data is stored on the phone ONLY to speed up Location finding on the phone. All Apple has done is made that Data Much less. As in not store as much Data there at once, and Encrypted it in case someone steels your phone to see where about you were. Not exactly where you were. There’s no Apple Tracking Network. The Phone Company’s on the other hand DO track you to a point because your Cell phone is connecting to a tower and they can triangulate, besides for Billing Purposes. Besides, you don’t think the GOVERNMENT is tracking you and scanning your call for key words!!! The Government can’t have private business getting into the act. I still don’t know what the big deal is even IF they were tracking you, which they weren’t anyway. What type of Criminal Activity do you not want to be traced back to? I can understand the House & Senate being worried, a bunch of Thief’s and Criminals, Corrupt Politicians running the Government!!!

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    I agree it is just a bug!!..

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    why these many days it was tracking

  • KCRic

    I’ll help you out with the damage control Apple.

    “Dear customers, we fu*ked up, we’re sorry”

    See, wasn’t so hard was it?

    • Redsnow

      But, what about Android? What is Google doing with all that info that wasn’t staying on your phone behind a firewall and was being transmitted back to the GoogleShip?

  • Isalty

    My guess is. They used the data to demand AT&T put up more towers where their users were concentrated.

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