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Apple CEO Jobs on iOS location data: "We don't track anyone"

April 25, 2011 — 10:35am ET | By Jason Ankeny

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs has reportedly responded to the growing furor over allegations that products running its iOS mobile operating system store user location data in a hidden file, denying the charges in an email to an Apple customer. MacRumors reports that a reader contacted Jobs asking for clarification on the location tracking reports--last week, British researchers Alisdair Allan and Pete Warden stated that iPhone and iPod devices have recorded location and time-stamp data since the mid-2010 release of the iOS 4 software update, effectively creating a comprehensive log of all user movement and activities during that time.

"Could you please explain the necessity of the passive location-tracking tool embedded in my iPhone?" the customer wrote in email. "It's kind of unnerving knowing that my exact location is being recorded at all times. Maybe you could shed some light on this for me before I switch to a Droid. They don't track me." Jobs' typically terse response: "Oh yes they do. We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false." The reply originated via Jobs' iPhone.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) are calling on Apple to officially respond to public outcry over the location tracking reports. "I'm deeply disturbed by this report," Inslee said in a statement. "I have been concerned that current law fails to ensure consumers are protected from privacy violations. Consumers are often left to learn of these breaches of privacy from hackers and security experts because companies fail to disclose what data they are collecting and for what purpose."

Franken fired off a two-page letter to Jobs. "There are numerous ways in which this information could be abused by criminals and bad actors," Franken writes. "Furthermore, there is no indication that this file is any different for underage iPhone or iPad users, meaning that the millions of children and teenagers who use iPhone or iPad devices also risk having their location collected and compromised." Franken's letter also includes a list of questions seeking insight into why Apple collects the data and how it is generated.

More than half of mobile application users express concern over how sharing their location via phone compromises their privacy, according to a new Nielsen Company survey. Fifty-nine percent of female app users (defined as subscribers who've downloaded a mobile app within the last 30 days) cite concerns over GPS-enabled check-in services and other solutions that automatically transmit geographic information, compared to 52 percent of male users.

Another 36 percent of men and 34 percent of women tell Nielsen they are indifferent to mobile privacy issues, and 12 percent of men and 8 percent of women indicate they are not concerned whatsoever. Age also plays a role: Fifty percent of consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 express fears over location privacy, compared to 61 percent of subscribers ages 45 to 54 and 63 percent of users age 55 and up. Nielsen adds that consumers will become more comfortable with location-based apps as they grow more familiar with the technology and marketers better understand how to offer benefits that compensate users for the exchange of personal information.

For more:
- read this MacRumors report