The revelation that iPhone and iPad user cooridnates are logged in real-time without prior consent sent shockwaves across the Internet yesterday. In my own report yesterday I declared a win for Android phones in the latest round of battle between the two smartphone giants. However, I may have spoken prematurely. Turns out that Android phones also keep track of users' whereabouts for up to 50 cell phone towers and 200 Wi-Fi networks. Unlike the iPhone or iPad, however, the compiled log file is overwritten when it reaches the maximum number of towers or Wi-Fi networks, with the newest entry overriding the oldest one. Not to mention that the file storing this data on Android phones is a lot harder to access than for the "consolidated.db" file stored on Apple's devices. Nevertheless, this new reveleation about Android phones comes to light as the US Senator Al Fraken writes a letter to Apple seeking clarification about what the purpose of this log file. Over 24 hours since the news broke, Apple still has yet to release an official statement, and based on their history, it likely won't be coming for a long time, if ever. It will be interesting to see if Google – the developer behind the Android OS – will take a different approach in responding to this controversy.
Source: The Guardian
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