Comments on: Dev-Team: Palm Pre May Track User Location, but 3rd Party iPhone Apps Do Too!

By: Blake

Blake — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:15:59 +0000

In reply to Scott........

Shazam asks for your location because each tag that is saved is given a geotag. That means that tags have the location of where they were recorded.

By: genomalice

genomalice — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:17:06 +0000

past tense check: Fck: fuck fcked: fucked

By: mech

mech — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:52:51 +0000

omg, you serious???? F@RT is now a bad word??? good god, what have we come to...

FARTED FARTED FARTED FARTED

PS your system does not detected past tense. better fix it quick before some 16.9 year olds read my post

By: mech

mech — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:50:31 +0000

Another consideration to keep in mind:

Apple, Palm, Google are all BIG companies with LOTS of money, which means they most likely will NOT go bankrupt any time soon (well, not sure about Palm). A 3rd party app, like your favorite fart app that wants to know where you farted your last fart (I just made that up, but plug in your own example) may not be very secure, it might collect non-anonymized data, it may go bankrupt and its assets might be ceased by another evil company/govt, it is probably easily hackable too.

When given the choice of unknowing collection of personal data, big companies, no matter how evil, are probably a much safer evil in the big run.

By: Icebike

Icebike — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:56:18 +0000

Many apps track your location ONLY because those ad-mob ads to support the "free" version.

Always file a problem report to apple when you see this. Do it frequently. It does work. Apple will forward those complaints to the developer.

Often the developer is unaware because they pressed the allow button and forgot it.

By: Druce

Druce — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:07:05 +0000

Yes, you can track the iPhone location using specially crafted web pages with the iPhone, but there is a world of difference betweeen that and what the Pre is doing. When I hit a web page that wants to track my whereabouts, I get a warning message, similar to the one used in this story. The iPhone doesn't hide the fact, or obscure it.

The big thing about the Pre was that they discovered it was sending location information back to the mothership without letting the user know. If it weren't for a hacker with a Sniffer, we may never have know.

By: dave

dave — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:55:30 +0000

This is kinda crazy... almost all web sites you go to track your location. This is just a little more scecific because of the gps. Location data can be super useful if used right.

By: Steve Bostedor

Steve Bostedor — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:43:58 +0000

We plan on discussing this today on "The App Show". You can watch live today at about 6:00PM Eastern Time at http://www.theappshow.com/live. Please come and join in on the discussion about this.

By: caa100

caa100 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:27:54 +0000

Apps that use pinch media do not tell you they are doing so.

Bottom line: you have no way to know if an app you buy contains the pinch media libraries. So telling people to "just say no" will not work.

By: Chi

Chi — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:26:43 +0000

You can opt out of the GPS tracking on the Palm Pre unit. This whole gps tracking was so hyped up by the media and bloggers that they completely forgot to ask "But can you opt out?". Yes. It's in the settings options. This rebuttal is now slowly making it's way around the internet.

By: vara411

vara411 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:07:35 +0000

@Bosco

Not a rebuttal, just a point... whether it's our cell phone manufacturer or software company that phone utilizes, we're being watched. Personally I think it's rather silly that you would just prefer a back-and-forth and make it all about Palm vs Apple. Fact is we're all being watched regardless of what phone we use. MOST IMPORTANTLY, the info (at least sent by the Palm Pre) is NOT identifying.

In the end, I agree with @fastlane. If you want my GPS coordinates, use 'em. "I’m not running a meth lab or prostitution ring." LOL

By: Bosco

Bosco — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:53:20 +0000

Dumb rebuttal. PALM is tracking your location and storing that data. Apple is not. If a third-party company does that with their software on the iPhone, don't install it. Problem solved.

Apple users are not subjected to this. Palm users are.

By: F1Apps

F1Apps — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:32:57 +0000

Yes I've always found the location thingie a bit annoying. It WOULD be good to have something that'll allow us to choose when we want to share our location and when we wouldn't want to.

By: Matt B

Matt B — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:29:59 +0000

@Scott

it asks for your location because when you tag a song it tells you where you tagged it

By: fastlane

fastlane — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:28:58 +0000

I don't care if an app tracks my location. I'm not running a meth lab or prostitution ring.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:16:12 +0000

I agree. Shazam, for example, always asks for my location. I can't seem to figure out why a name that tune app would be concerned about my location, other then marketing (obviosuly).

By: Christopher Cox

Christopher Cox — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:08:17 +0000

I think this is a very good idea.