Is your iPhone risking your privacy?

Apple users beware - it has emerged that your every move is being logged and stored to a secret file

Apple has been accused of putting customers privacy at risk after it was found that iPhones save the details of users locations and copy data to the owner’s computer whenever the two are synchronised.

Worryingly, this means that anyone who steals your phone, or gains access to the computer it is paired with, could build a detailed picture of your movements. Apple’s iPad device also records location data.

‘Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone of computer to get detailed information about where you’ve been,’ says researcher Pete Warden.

But is this just another scaremongering discovery, or do we need to be more careful about the information we share using our phones and the applications that are available?

Although mobile phone networks routinely record the locations of mobile phones this information is only available to police and other government agencies under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.

It is understood the tracking started with Apple’s iOS 4 update, published in June 2010, meaning some phones could contain almost a year’s worth of data on their owners whereabouts.

Daniel Hamilton, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch says: ‘I think the most concerning thing is that people are simply unaware that this vast database is being created.’

But with technology developing all around us, is privacy invasion just part of the course or should people be able to move around freely without accumulating a digital record of all their movements?

Marie Claire wants to hear from you so join the debate by posting a comment below.

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