Hidden iPhone feature tracks your every move
What if someone had a list of everywhere you go, along with the exact time you arrive and leave there each day? It turns out that information can be gathered from your iPhone.
A little-known feature on Apple's smartphones tracks and records users' whereabouts. Your phone even automatically labels your assumed home and work addresses based on the amount of time you spend in each location.
Apple says that the data is stored only on your device and nowhere else unless you opt into to share it with the company to improve the Maps feature. In that case, the company says it stores user private data anonymously.
This stored smartphone data can be subpoenaed for both criminal and civil court cases, like divorce proceedings.
Privacy advocates say the data collection has the potential for misuse. "One of the concerning things is, this is hidden from you in your phone," Noah Swartz, staff technologist at Electronic Frontier Foundation, told CBS News. "This could be used by abusive partners. It could be used by police in an investigation. It could be used by your boss or your company if you gave them access to your phone or if you're using a work phone."
If you don't want your iPhone to gather this data, here's how to find and disable the Frequent Locations feature:
1) Click "Settings"
2) Go to "Privacy"
3) Select "Location Services"
4) Scroll down to "System Services"
5) Choose "Frequent Locations" to see the logged record of where you've been -- de-select this to turn the feature off
6) Select "Clear History" to delete locations from your phone