NEW YORK - June 22, 2010 - The world's largest technology company by market capitalization may soon rival the National Security Agency in its ability to track Amerikans using their cell phones.
Apple, Inc. is now tracking the "precise," "real-time geographic location" of iPhones, iPads and Macintosh computers - and has gotten its customers to unknowingly sign off on their being tracked by making a little-noticed modification to the language in its apps store.
The company's "partners and licensees" will now be able to collect and store data about your location.
Apple's new privacy policy comes in the wake of a new "Find my iPhone" app the company approved that allows users to recover their lost phones using AT&T's location services.
Tracking digital consumers by location is nothing new. Web sites routinely receive information about their users' locations in order to serve relevant advertising. For example, Raw Story's ad providers use information provided by readers' Internet service providers to serve ads appropriate to the region in which they're being read - in other words, you might get an ad for a political campaign in your area.
