It's no secret that the iPhone is recording your movement. Even if Steve Jobs claims this information isn't being used to track anyone, the fact is, it's still being collected. This feature dates back to the release of iOS 4, and can supposedly be stopped by disabling Location Services in the Settings for your device. For all the privacy fanatics out there, we decided to put this to the test.
So does turning off Location really work? Well, as of right now, it looks like yes, it does.
To test it out, I started with a freshly reset Verizon iPhone 4. I synced it to my computer, then turned off Location Services immediately. After that, I took a walk. Location information is determined by cell phone towers rather than GPS, and update times are unclear at the moment, relying on the towers themselves and cell phone activity. I figured a good 45 minutes would be large-enough window of time for my location data to be collected if it was going to happen.
So I walked from the PCMag Labs, down to Union Square, stopping every few minutes to check e-mail or pull up a Web site on the phone; just to make sure that I was actively engaging Verizon's cell towers. Then I walked towards the East River while making my way back uptown, trying to cover as large a radius as possible.
When I got back to the Labs, I downloaded and installed a copy of Pete Warden's free iPhoneTracker app, which would allow me to see any location data collected during my trip, if indeed there was any. I synced the iPhone 4 with my computer, then loaded up the app and waited.
And then, nothing.
Well, the app loaded, and my most recent backup log appeared, which would have contained my location data, but nothing was actually collected. So judging from just this one test, it appears that by disabling Location Services, my device was stopped from collecting information about my whereabouts.
But there's a few of caveats: First, this test only took place over a 45-minute period. Since we aren't sure how often location information is collected, it's possible that I just wasn't out at the right time for my data to be collected. Second, the phone we used to look at location data last week was an iPhone 3GS on AT&T's network. While it doesn't seem likely, it may be possible that location data is collected differently on different networks. Finally, after performing this test, I turned Location Services back on and went back out for a little stroll. I came back 15 minutes later, expecting to see at least one point of location data, but found nothing.
So at the moment, even if Apple isn't using the information collected from Location Services to track anyone, it looks like turning Location Services off will effectively end any location-related data from being collected.
In the meantime, I'm going to spend the rest of the day making sure to carry the iPhone 4 with me wherever I go, with Location Services turned off, to see if it manages to 'follow' me anywhere in my travels. I'll update this article tomorrow with any additional information I collect overnight.