View iPhone and iPad Tracking Data

The major news organizations are reporting that all iPhones and iPads running IOS 4, in all its incarnations, has been tracking the exact whereabouts of their users for nearly a year. Apple has not yet released an official press release explaining their motives for such an invasive move, but you can still view the data Apple is collecting.


If you use a Mac with Snow Leopard to sync your iPhone, you can easily see the places you have been in the past year on a nifty map. To do this, use your Mac to go to the iPhone Tracker Web site. Once there, click Download the Application.

Unzip and run the application. A map will appear showing your whereabouts.

According to Wired, and the gentlemen who discovered the tracking data (one of which is a former Apple employee), the data is not being transmitted anywhere—it just sits on your computer and in your iPhone and iPad. Installed Apps cannot access it, nor can someone hack into your iPhone and iPad from a distance and access this data.
However, we cannot help but wonder what the purpose is for collecting such data in the first place. Obviously, catching a cheating spouse would be easy with an exact map of their whereabouts.
The data could potentially serve as alibis in criminal cases, although it would be very easy to leave your phone at a friend’s house, commit the crime, then retrieve the phone. Most likely, if Apple did use the data, it would be for advertising purposes.
There is no map-generating app for PC users yet, but we expect one will follow very soon. We also expect Apple to make a statement of some sort, likely denying the data collection is in any way malicious.