After the release of reports stating that the Iphone tracked users location, it was found that Google’s running Android phones were also gathering users location information.
The way both companies gather those personal information differ a little, but the end result is the same, both Apple and Google have records of your personal daily movements.
On Android phones the data is unencrypted and access can only be granted at the root level of the device. Data recorded is limited to 50 cell towers and 200 WiFi hotspots, and data is overwritten once the limit has been reached.
On the Iphone, the potential privacy breach comes when syncing your Iphone with iTunes. Data storage seems to be much larger than what Google’s Android stores and personal data information can be kept for a year.
But why do Google and Apple keep track of your locations? Just like a cache for a browser, keeping this data helps your handsets locate itself among cell towers and Wi-Fi networks. This prevents overloading the network unnecessarily.
Google also claims that this location tracking helps them with traffic estimation.
But their real purpose is most likely related in collecting users location information in order to provide more accurate targeted business ads and services to potential consumers. After all, its all about money.
Unfortunately, for us users, this privacy breach could become very dangerous if a mal intended individual where to discover our daily routine. He could then predict accurately or work schedule and where we usually are at any moment in time.
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