Your IPhone is Tracking You

[LexusLover]

Data is stored by the provider for the same reason my phone is on "roam" when I am out of the country. Searching for a provider with a good signal and logging onto the provider when I make a call to assure that the provider can bill ME for the time and send the bill to the correct provider for the purpose of putting the calls on MY BILL and not yours or someone elses.

When I pull the subscriber identity module from one phone and put it in another phone I have, then the second phone believes that is me ... and id's the second phone .. as me ... and will transmit to the provider the actual phone description obtained by the sim....when I insert it.

BTW: All this "tracking" stuff ain't new ... and is not "new" as far as the government is concerned. During the Clinton Administration, the President put the VP in charge of the project to install "chips" in every phone to eavesdrop on EVERYONE's conversations ... 1992-3.

Look up "Clipper" chip.

[greg126126126]

Why don't you just turn off your phone when you go to an appointment? Am I naive thinking that would stop the actual signal being sent? I am not a tech person, maybe someone knows if that would work. Thx!

[LexusLover]

Turning off?
http://www.wambooli.com/blog/?p=2761
"There are not one, not two, not even three, but four types of GPS signals your cell phone can use. Allow me to demystify them for you.

On the Droid X and Droid 2, there are four GPS signal options. They’re found in the Settings app, Locations & Security category:

• E911 Only
• Use Wireless Networks
• Use GPS Satellites
• Enable Assisted GPS
  1. Here’s the rundown:
     E911 Only. If you’re used to seeing cryptic techy acronyms, you may not see the sense in the E911 location service. That’s okay: I didn’t get it at first, either. But when you think “This is a 911 emergency,” then you can see that E911 is the location service used in North America so that 911 operators can use the GPS signal on your cell phone to locate you. E911 equals Emergency 911.
     You cannot disable the E911 signal on your phone, which is why the setting is called . Well, you probably could if you hack the phone, but I assume that most people don’t hack their phones, nor would I see why you would legitimately want to disregard this vital feature.
     Use Wireless Networks. Turning on this setting directs the phone to monitor Wi-Fi networks that can help pinpoint your location — with the assistance of GPS satellites as well. That’s because the physical location of some Wi-Fi networks is known. In fact, Google gathered Wi-Fi networking locations when it does its Street View imaging. (And that was controversial, but I see their point.)
     An issue with using Wireless Networks is that Wi-Fi networks can move. If you use this option and suddenly notice that the Maps app has you placed several hundred miles away, then it’s because the Wi-Fi network either moved or is being misinterpreted.
     Obviously this item can’t be used when you’ve turned off the phone’s Wi-Fi radio. (Though the option doesn’t become disabled should you turn off the Wi-Fi radio.)
     Use GPS Satellites. This setting is the standard GPS setting, the one that uses the signal from the Global Positioning Satellites. That signal helps determine your location anywhere on the globe. So in theory, the standard GPS option works even when your phone isn’t getting a cell signal. (Though the Maps app may not update in that instance.)
     Even if you turn off the GPS Satellite option, the authorities can still use your phone to determine your location. That’s because the E911 option allows emergency operators to turn on your phone GPS signal, as well as the AGPS (covered next).
     Enable Assisted GPS. Also known as AGPS, the Assisted GPS option supplements the standard GPS system with information from the cell towers near you. Basically it uses triangulation based on the signal strength of the towers to help pinpoint your location.
     The problem with AGPS, and the reason some people don’t use it, is that it can incur more data charges and it can drain the battery faster. I believe both situations are rather insignificant, however: The data sent between your phone and the cell towers for AGPS isn’t that much. And, I suppose, if battery juice is getting low, then you can turn off AGPS. Even so, you’ll probably be using AGPS for navigation, and if you’re in a car I’d recommend using the car adapter anyway.
     In addition to these options, various apps warn you whether they use or need GPS information. In all cases, you’ll be alerted to apps that use the GPS when you first install them or when they’re upgraded. That information appears on the alert screen before you install the app.
     Further, some apps query you before they access the GPS. They may say something like, “Okay to use location information?” You then have the option whether or not to share you and your phone’s location with the app and, generally, with the rest of the Internet."
     ____________________ End of Quoted Materials____________________
     
     Do a cost/benefit analysis:
     
     Cost of a hobby phone vs. Cost of getting "busted" by *______________
     
     *You fill in the blank.

[T-Dawg]

Originally Posted by Spirit13

Update on the iPHONE tracking you.. read HERE seems the phone is tracking the towers its talking to along your path and not actually where you are going to - or so the article claims. My question is this.. why is storing that data anyway?

I've actually downloaded an app that allows you to view the data, and yes, it is logging cell phone towers and known wifi hotspots you have been near. It does this so as to provide faster location tracking for applications that use that data (like mapping apps, or 4square, or whatever). GPS isn't that fast with initial lock-on, so AGPS (assisted) is commonly used in cell phones to improve the performance.

[LexusLover]

Originally Posted by T-Dawg

GPS isn't that fast with initial lock-on, ....

I normally drive the speed limits and maintain tire contact with the tarmac ... err....asphalt, ....... so it works pretty fast .....

..... relatively speaking, of course.

[BusyLiving]

You (and everyone else) can download an app now that allows you to map this data file -- http://petewarden.github.com/iPhoneTracker/

Like others have said, it isn't your precise location . . .just the cell towers you have been close to, but when you click on the time bar in this app and it shows all your travels since November of last year, I have to admit its a bit spooky.

[LexusLover]

Originally Posted by BusyLiving

.... I have to admit its a bit spooky.

"pardon the pun," ....... of course!

[SneakyCancer]

well once the government works out the kinks with cellular privacy laws and non consent, this will take crime busting to a whole other level. all this technology and we continue to get bomb threats, terrorist threats/attacks, and various other crimes that could be corrected.

[Meoauniaea]

This is a non-issue. The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it’s maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location, some of which may be located more than one hundred miles away from your iPhone. This helps your iPhone rapidly and accurately calculate its location when requested. Calculating a phone’s location using just GPS satellite data can take up to several minutes. iPhone can reduce this time to just a few seconds by using Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data to quickly find GPS satellites, and even triangulate its location using just Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data when GPS is not available (such as indoors or in basements).

These calculations are performed live on the iPhone using a crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data that is generated by tens of millions of iPhones sending the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple.

This data is not the iPhone’s location data—it is a subset (cache) of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database which is downloaded from Apple into the iPhone to assist the iPhone in rapidly and accurately calculating location. It's supposed to clear after a few days, but it's not......so Apple is going to release an update to drop that cache to 7 days.

Keep in mind this is information isn't transmitted anywhere. It's a local copy. Android does the same thing, but it's harder to find and it DOES trasmit back to google. Same for Blackberry and Windows phones.

[LexusLover]

Originally Posted by Meoauniaea

This is a non-issue.

ya, think?

Looks like a "non-issue" to me:

I already posted this last month, in case it was not read:

No. 13-10-00216-CR

Court of Appeals of Texas, Thirteenth District, Corpus Christi - Edinburg

February 17, 2011

“A Nueces County jury convicted appellant, Heriberto Saenz, of one count of murder, a first-degree felony, and three counts of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. 19.02 (Vernon 2003); id. 22.02 (Vernon Supp. 2010). Saenz was sentenced to seventy years’ imprisonment for the murder count and twenty years’ imprisonment for each of the aggravated assault counts, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. By a single issue on appeal, Saenz argues that the trial court abused its discretion by permitting certain expert testimony and that the error affected Saenz’s substantial rights. We affirm.


The State also presented evidence regarding calls made by Saenz on his cell phone that evening. Raymond McDonald, a legal compliance officer employed by T-Mobile, Saenz’s cell phone service provider, testified that he is a “custodian of records for cell phone records dealing with [Saenz’s] cell phone number.” McDonald authenticated, and the trial court admitted into evidence without objection, records for Saenz’s cell phone account on the date of the shooting, as well as records for certain cell towers and call detail information for those towers.
The State then called Detective Ben Tead of the Corpus Christi Police Department. Outside the presence of the jury, Detective Tead testified that he has an associate’s degree in criminal justice and “ha[s] attended several schools in investigative techniques put on by the [Public Agency Training Council] and also by Texas [Department of Public Safety] and also considerable on-the-job training.” He stated that he is certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education and that he has received specialized training in “cell phones and their usage.” Specifically, Detective Tead testified that he attended a three-day course in March of 2009 focusing on “isolating and identifying cellular towers to be used to track individuals, actually track cell phones and the location, physical location, from which they were used.” Detective Tead explained that cell phone companies systematically keep records of (1) the locations of the various towers that transmit and receive their signals, and (2) “what cellular tower and what sector on that cellular tower a call was first placed to and what cellular tower and sector on that cellular tower was last communicated with by that cellular device.” [2] Detective Tead acknowledged that he had never before given an opinion in court “regarding information obtained from cell phones or cell phone towers” but that he has performed analyses on such records some twelve times previously.
Over defense counsel’s objection, the trial court qualified Detective Tead as an expert to testify as to the location of Saenz’s cell phone at the time of the shooting “based on the calls and the data that w[ere] provided by T-Mobile.” See Tex. R. Evid. 702. Detective Tead then testified before the jury that, at Detective Rodriguez’s request, he reviewed the T-Mobile records that were previously authenticated by McDonald and admitted into evidence. He also obtained records from T-Mobile listing the global positioning system (“GPS”) coordinates for all towers located in Texas. The records showed that a thirty-second call was placed at 10:32 on the evening in question from Saenz’s cell phone to a cell phone registered in the name of Anthony Curiel. Detective Tead stated that Curiel “is a known member of the Suicidal Barrio gang.” The prosecutor then asked:
Q. [Prosecutor] Now were you able to determine the tower usage that we can associate with the phone [call]?
A. [Detective Tead] Yes. This tower is located-the GPS coordinates place it on Leopard, near Airport Road or-yes, Airport Road.
Q. Were you able to determine which particular part of the tower was used to complete that call?
A. Yes. It was sector two. The call started and ended in sector two of cellular tower with a [location area code] of 9905 and a cellular tower I.D. of 40702 which was the cellular tower off of Leopard [S]treet. Sector two covers a serviceable area which includes the location of the murder.
Detective Tead further testified that some ten other calls were made or received by Saenz’s cell phone that evening, including four calls to and from Rebecca Mills, who was identified as Saenz’s girlfriend, and two calls placed to other Suicidal Barrios gang members. The calls which were made at or around the approximate time of the shooting were associated with towers located near 1112 Sabinas Street. According to Saenz, “[i]n essence, [Detective] Tead testified that [Saenz]’s cell phone was at or near the crime scene at the time of the shooting.”



Joshua Deon Lamb, Appellant

v.

The State of Texas, Appellee

No. 14-09-01007-CR

Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourteenth District

February 15, 2011

“A jury found appellant Joshua Deon Lamb guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Lamb appeals his conviction contending that: (1) the evidence at trial is legally and factually insufficient to support a guilty verdict; (2) he received ineffective assistance of counsel; (3) the trial court erred in charging the jury on the law of parties, and (4) the State argued outside the record during closing argument. We affirm.”


“Investigators also recovered Carter’s cell phone from his pocket and enlisted Steve Lowenstein, an inspector with the United States Marshals Service, to analyze the call records. It was determined that Lamb and Carter exchanged several brief phone calls shortly before the shooting. Lamb first called Carter at 2:51 a.m., with additional calls following at 2:58, 3:00, 3:06, 3:36, and 3:39. Espree called 911 at 3:43 a.m., and no additional calls between Lamb and Carter followed. Inspector Lowenstein was able to track the movements of Lamb’s cell phone during these calls by examining the cell towers used by the phone. He determined that up until 3:20 a.m., Lamb’s phone was in the area of his apartment but moved from his apartment to the area of Carter’s home in the 15 minutes immediately before the shooting. By 3:50 a.m., roughly seven minutes after the shooting, Lamb’s phone had returned to the area of his apartment. The phone was never used again after that morning.”

______________ End of Quoted Material_______________

[Meoauniaea]

Yeah it's still a non-issue. If someone has your phone, has it plugged into a computer, and has the right tools to look at this file......you already have an issue with this particular person. This particular file is also not known to have any information on anything related to voice or data usage. It just knows a tower/wi-fi hotspot was pinged, and even some towers are hit about 100 miles away.

In fact, here's my file that the media is talking about for you to view. Come find me. Also, a good number of those dots are nowhere near where I was. This is a years worth of data, which the upcoming iOS 4 update will limit to 7 days.

[Homerpimpson]

If your really worried about this they have something so you can disable this, but your iphone has to be jailbroken because it's a 3rd party app. Just saying...

[LexusLover]

I don't "worry" ..... I have seen data prinouts with the gps and time stamps and can match the gps locations with mapquest ..... as far as I am concerned all the rest of the bs is to facilitate marketing .....

like Galveston Tourist Bureau reporting ...... "no sharks" off the beach.

if anyone wants to take the word of anonyous poster to keep themselves out of trouble ... by saying there is no problem

[Meoauniaea]

Go ahead...I'm waiting for you to show up. Gps me.

[LexusLover]

Originally Posted by Meoauniaea

Go ahead...I'm waiting for you to show up. Gps me.

I don't "Gps" anyone. But LE can, if LE wants.