iOS 4.3.3 Released for iPhone, Fixes “Tracking” Bugs

Just two weeks ago, Apple took a rare hit to their so-called “reality distortion field”. A pair of researchers found a file on the iPhone that seemingly tracked the iPhone owner’s location (based on which cell towers they were connecting to) going back as far as a year. As a few angry mobs gathered their pitchforks (and fired off lawsuits), Apple explained it as an anonymized, “crowd-sourced location database”intended for use with an upcoming traffic feature, and chalked up some of the stranger aspects (namely, how far back it tracked, and that it continued to log locations even after the user manually disabled location services) as bugs.

Whatever the reason for the log file, Apple has just released a patch (iOS 4.3.3, or 4.2.8 for Verizon iPhones) that does away with much of the creep-factor.

Here’s whats fixed, according to Apple’s changelog (bracketed notes ours):

Reduces the size of the cache [it's only about a weeks worth of locational data now, as opposed to many months]No longer backs the cache up to iTunes [Your new backups will no longer contain the consolidated.db file, making it a whole lot harder for a crazy spouse to take it and throw it into a third-party mapping tool to figure out roughly where you were at any given time]Deletes the cache entirely when Location Services is turned off

A surprisingly hasty fix on Apple’s part, though it’d be nice to be able to disable the logging without having to disable Location Services all together. What do you think about this solution?

More about → iOS 4.3.3 Released for iPhone, Fixes “Tracking” Bugs

Apple “Fixes” iOS, iOS 5 To Get OTA Updates?

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Apple has finally decided to do something about “the bugs” in the iOS that led to people getting tracked by their phones at all times. iOS 4.3.3 reduce the size of the cache and does not back up location data to users’ computers. A can of worms was opened when it was revealed that Apple was tracking its customers. It could be a huge security threat. Let’s not forget that some people still prefer having some privacy.

This data is sent to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form. Apple cannot identify the source of this data

iPhone owners using this new update can get rid of their cache by turning of location services. While these changes do not completely stop the tracking practice, they do give people a chance to be in control of what their device does.
For now, Apple does not offer over the air updates. But that could be about to change with the company working with Verizon to offer over the air updates for Verizon iPhones. Such a practice would make it much easier for Apple to push patches to iOS devices. Those of you who have owned your iPhone for quite some time are probably frustrated by the way the current update/sync process works. It could take a whole lot to time and does seem to be an overkill at times (the way Apple performs it). Many expect iOS 5 to offer huge improvements over iOS 4.x. Adding over-the-air updates to it is a good start.
On a related note, Apple won’t be accepting reviews from people who use promo codes from developers. That could have major ramifications for developers and how they can go about promoting their apps. That also means people working for app review sites (such as ours) won’t be able to leave reviews on iTunes for some of the apps they have tested. Still, this move could improve the quality of reviews received on iTunes.

More about → Apple “Fixes” iOS, iOS 5 To Get OTA Updates?

Apple “Fixes” iOS, iOS 5 To Get OTA Updates?

Don't forget to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Apple has finally decided to do something about “the bugs” in the iOS that led to people getting tracked by their phones at all times. iOS 4.3.3 reduce the size of the cache and does not back up location data to users’ computers. A can of worms was opened when it was revealed that Apple was tracking its customers. It could be a huge security threat. Let’s not forget that some people still prefer having some privacy.

This data is sent to Apple in an anonymous and encrypted form. Apple cannot identify the source of this data

iPhone owners using this new update can get rid of their cache by turning of location services. While these changes do not completely stop the tracking practice, they do give people a chance to be in control of what their device does.

For now, Apple does not offer over the air updates. But that could be about to change with the company working with Verizon to offer over the air updates for Verizon iPhones. Such a practice would make it much easier for Apple to push patches to iOS devices. Those of you who have owned your iPhone for quite some time are probably frustrated by the way the current update/sync process works. It could take a whole lot to time and does seem to be an overkill at times (the way Apple performs it). Many expect iOS 5 to offer huge improvements over iOS 4.x. Adding over-the-air updates to it is a good start.

On a related note, Apple won’t be accepting reviews from people who use promo codes from developers. That could have major ramifications for developers and how they can go about promoting their apps. That also means people working for app review sites (such as ours) won’t be able to leave reviews on iTunes for some of the apps they have tested. Still, this move could improve the quality of reviews received on iTunes.

More about → Apple “Fixes” iOS, iOS 5 To Get OTA Updates?