Apple Wednesday said it will release a free update to its iOS software which the Cupertino, Calif. company claims will secure location data stored on the iPhone and iPad. The update will “reduce the size of the database file, encrypt the file, and ensure it is deleted if users disable location services on their iPhone or 3G-connected iPad,” Apple announced in a press release.
Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported the tracking feature continues even when users disable location services. The growing concerns, which now goes by “Locationgate,” has prompted class-action lawsuits and government investigations.
Although Apple said explaining the issue is “hard to communicate in a soundbite,” the company released a 10-point rebuttal to fears iPhone and iPad users are being tracked. “Users are confused, partly because the creators of this new technology (including Apple) have not provided enough education about these issues to date,” the company said.
The data is cached and stored on the iPhone. Although “protected”, the data is not encrypted when backed up via iTunes, the company said. That cache should get smaller. “The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered,” Apple explained. “We don’t think the iPhone needs to store more than seven days of this data.”
The company described the storing of Wi-Fi and cell tower data despite location services disabled as a “bug.” However the tech giant will still collect data it says will be used to “build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.”
Relying simply on GPS data is not enough. “iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available (such as indoors or in basement),” according to Apple.
