As technology continues to take over our lives, the struggle to maintain privacy becomes ever harder. But while we may take special steps to update our privacy settings on Facebook or to limit what apps have our information, it turns out that just having your phone on you at all times has some creepy consequences.
Every place you've ever visited — the local supermarket, the office where you work, the pub, your own home — is being stored on your iPhone, including the address and the number of times you've been to that location. Feeling a bit weird about that?
Well, the reason is a feature hidden deep in your privacy settings called 'Frequent Locations', and while it's in no way new, it often goes unnoticed. For years, the system has been pinpointing the places you visit on a map and logging your arrival and departure times from each location, so your iPhone can help improve the Maps app and serve you best.
"Every place you go, where you shop, where you have a drink – it is all recorded," computer scientist Noel Sharkey exclaimed to the Metro a while back. "This is a divorce lawyer's dream. But what horrifies me is that it's so secret. Why did we not know about this?"
Apple has been pretty clear on this. There is now fingerprint recognition and encryption on iPhones, and the firm has often stated how data captured only works locally and never leaves your phone. Privacy has never been better.
"If you put that information in someone else's hands, then it becomes powerful, and in some cases, dangerous," Sharkey continued, keen to find issue. You're still feeling weird, aren't you?
So if you're a nervous sort who doesn't trust their tech, here's what you do:
- Open your 'Settings' menu
- Select 'Privacy'
- Select 'Location Services'
- Scroll really far down and select 'System Services'
- Scroll more and select 'Frequent Locations'
- Select 'Clear History'
- Swipe left on the 'Frequent Locations' tab to turn it off
There you go – you can now rest easy, although your Maps probably won't work as well.
