Hidden map in iphone android#

It links to photo memories and calendar entries, dictating when you should “leave now.” It knows how you travel and how long you take to get there. Your home and office, favorite places to eat, shop and visit. “Your iPhone and iCloud-connected devices,” the company explains, “will keep track of places you have recently been, as well as how often and when you visited them, in order to learn places that are significant to you.”

“I cannot think of a positive or useful reason why Apple would include this on any of their devices.”Īpple’s Significant Locations is similar to Google’s Timeline, albeit it captures seemingly arbitrary locations that the AI on the phone considers important. It’s exceptionally well hidden.ĭisabling 'Hidden' Significant Locations Setting iOS / locations is one of the features hidden within the privacy section,” ESET’s Jake Moore has warned. I don't need to say that if you’ve spent the extra bucks to get an iPhone for its privacy and security, then enabling Google to track your life and store all that data on its cloud is probably not the wisest decision you’ll make.īut before iPhone users reading this become too complacent as to the differences between their phones and Androids, how many of you have checked the “ secretive” Significant Location setting on your device? How many have heard of the setting or know where to find it? Not that many.

Hidden map in iphone android#

“Insights” has now started to roll out on Android devices by market and will likely come to your iPhone at some point. It’s never shared with third parties, and we use world-class anonymization technology.” Location History powers some of our most helpful features. In response to this story, the company told me “we build choice and transparency into all of our products. The company recently announced the addition of location history reminders to its Timeline, in addition to the controls it has added to Maps and Search. There’s no comprehensive list of every feature tied to Significant Locations, but if you turn it off, you’ll probably find certain things in iOS don’t work quite as seamlessly as they did before.Įver notice how iOS suggests a workout playlist when you reach the gym, or surfaces your parking payment app when you stop at a familiar car park? It can’t do that if it doesn’t know those places are significant to you.Google is clearly aware of the optics around its capturing so much location data, and points to the tools that allow users to disable or delete this data capture. Well, Significant Locations is responsible for many of the “intelligent” features on your iPhone, like predictive traffic routing, Siri suggestions, photo Memories, and locating your parked car. It has nothing to gain from tracking you, and a lot to lose if word got out. With privacy such a selling point for iPhones, we don’t believe Apple would jeopardize that by lying to us about how it protects your location data. It makes money – a lot of money – by selling expensive, high-markup devices that lock you into an Apple-centric ecosystem where you’re likely to spend even more money on apps and services down the line.

Your personal data is really valuable to them as it powers their targeted ads business.Īpple doesn’t work that way. For one, it’s stored securely on your device, not on a server somewhere – and end-to-end encryption means it can’t be read by Apple, even if a rogue employee wanted to break protocol and track you.īut other companies use this kind of location data to build a profile about you, right? So why should we trust Apple?įacebook, Google, and Amazon all make a lot of money through advertising. The truth is Apple doesn’t look at this stuff. If that sounds like clickbait, it’s because it is. It’s a bit creepy, though, right…? The spy who logged meĭespite Apple’s assurances that all its Location Services are carefully designed to protect your information, a handful of viral social media posts suggest Apple is “spying on you” with this data. Potentially this data could be useful to track work hours you forgot to log, or as a refresher of where you were on a specific date. You can even tap individual entries to view a map of the area.

This page, which is locked behind a biometric or passcode check, shows a summary of more or less everywhere you’ve been, including date and time stamps. (The purple arrows mark services that recently accessed your location.) It’s worth reading through all of these and toggling off any you don’t want or need, but for now, let’s take a look at Significant Locations. Tucked away at the very bottom of the list is System Services, which details all the ways Apple itself uses your location. Head to Settings > Privacy > Location Services to see all the apps you’ve granted location access to.