Worth Reading: iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go in secret file, Terrorism alert less colourful, Sheen's court, Filmmakers Opposing Premium VOD

* Guardian, “iPhone keeps record of everywhere you go – Privacy fears raised as researchers reveal file on iPhone that stores location coordinates and timestamps of owner’s movements” Here is an excerpt (emphasis added),

“”Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you’ve been,” said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.

Only the iPhone records the user’s location in this way, say Warden and Alasdair Allan, the data scientists who discovered the file and are presenting their findings at the Where 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. “Alasdair has looked for similar tracking code in [Google's] Android phones and couldn’t find any,” said Warden. “We haven’t come across any instances of other phone manufacturers doing this.“

Simon Davies, director of the pressure group Privacy International, said: “This is a worrying discovery. Location is one of the most sensitive elements in anyone’s life – just think where people go in the evening. The existence of that data creates a real threat to privacy. The absence of notice to users or any control option can only stem from an ignorance about privacy at the design stage.” [...]

The iPhone system, by contrast, appears to record the data whether or not the user agrees. Apple declined to comment on why the file is created or whether it can be disabled.

Warden and Allan have set up a web page which answers questions about the file, and created a simple downloadable application to let Apple users check for themselves what location data the phone is retaining. The Guardian has confirmed that 3G-enabled devices including the iPad also retain the data and copy it to the owner’s computer.”

Sample video 1 of iPhone Tracker displaying information your iPhone is recording about your movements.

Sample video 2 of iPhone Tracker displaying information your iPhone is recording about your movements.

* CNN, “New terrorism alert system will offer specific warnings“

* THR, “How Charlie Sheen’s ‘Two and a Half Men’ Court Showdown Ended“

* THR, “23 Directors and Producers Release Letter Opposing Premium VOD – Peter Jackson, James Cameron, Michael Bay and Kathryn Bigelow are among those who signed in support of the National Assn. of Theater Owners, urging studios to scrub the service“

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