Friday, April 22, 2011

iOS location tracking file may be a bug

The controversial file that stores detailed location history on the iPhone and iPad might just be a bug in the Apple iOS operating system.



There's a theory that the '..consolidated.db acts as a cache for location data, and that historical data should be getting culled but isn’t, either due to a bug or, more likely, an oversight. I.e. someone wrote the code to cache location data but never wrote code to cull non-recent entries from the cache..'

If this theory is accurate, Apple would probably come up with a fix for it on the next iOS update.

Or maybe this file is actually part of an upcoming feature for the iPhone 5. I'm guessing it could be an app called iWasHere lol. [I'm just kidding okay haha]

In the meantime, iPhone and 3G-equipped iPad users are advised to encrypt their iOS backups through iTunes to maximize security.

And if you're curious about what is stored on your device, there's an open-source app called iPhone Tracker, which maps the information that your iPhone is recording about your movements. It doesn't record anything itself, it only displays files that are already hidden on your computer.

bug theory [via Daring Fireball]

iPhone Tracker [site link]