Apple publishes GPS data collection policies
A pair of congressmen demanded answers from Apple about how and why it collects iPhone and iPad GPS user data, and they got answer. Granted, the information was already available, but reading as opposed to calling a press conference wouldn’t have gotten either man any headlines and it is after all an election year.
IT World reports that Apple has responded with a 13-page document (.pdf) to questions posed by Representatives Ed Markey (Massachusetts) and Joe Barton (Texas) about the company’s collection and use of iPhone and iPad user GPS data.
“Consumer consent is the key to assessing the adequacy of privacy protections, and Apple’s responses provide examples of how consumers can grant or withhold consent in their usage of Apple products,” said Markey in a statement.
For his part, and he does have a point, Barton said, “While I applaud Apple for responding to our questions, I remain concerned about privacy policies that run on for pages and pages.”
Thereupon, here are the salient points gleaned from Apple’s reply:
- • iDevices running iPhone OS 3.2 or iOS 4.x.x 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 data can’t be linked to individual users
— Apple only collects data from users that opt in and then GPS-enabled apps
• Apple uses the data to analyze traffic patterns and density
• Apple collects information about the cell towers and Wi-Fi networks used
• Apple collects diagnostic information from randomly selected users that opt in.
Such answers won’t satisfy the tin-foil hat crowd, but that’s to be expected and I hope the paranoid play their part by verifying what Apple says. I’ll still feel annoyed by them, but they have their place, n’est pas?
All-in-all Apple’s policy is pretty benign. However, I would like more information about the data collected from people who opt into everything gets collected, used and shared.
Trust is such a dirty word…
What’s your take?
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July 22nd, 2010
Very scary! The data collected actually suffices to generate personal motion profile of every individual. Research with google data sets has shown that it is relatively easy to put a name back to large data sets, even if the name was not stored. The worst of this is that Apple can use this for iAd and also shares this with “partners and licensees” – since 2008!