Quoting ya_shin:

Quote:
iOS does ask you, at least the first time, when a program wants to use the GPS information and you may decline.

You're talking about Location Services.  And yes, the user is made very aware of that.  Unfortunately, what's being discussed here has nothing to do with Location Services and still functions when that is disabled (I'm pretty sure).

Anyway, here is a really good article that pretty much proves what I said from the beginning.  The press is making a story where none really exists.  The data isn't all that accurate, it doesn't store any history and it seems that the phone may simply be receiving a list of cell towers and wi-fi hot spots in your vicinity.  It's a great article and instead of spreading hysteria, they're simply examining the data and using real science to interpret it.  Worth a read.

Looks like Apple have finally spoken up.

They plan to release an update in the next few weeks to address some of the concerns.  Looks like the update WILL turn this off when Location Services is turned off.  If I read it right, turning off Location Services will clear this database.  It will also not be allowed to grow so large.  And it won't be copied to your PC during a backup.

Also, this is just a list of nearby cell towers and wi-fi hotspots.  The purpose of the database is to more quickly locate you.  If you rely solely on GPS satellites to locate you, it takes a lot longer.  The purpose of this database is to quickly locate you until more accurate coordinates can be figured out from the GPS.  At least that's the official story.

So, I'm not seeing anything here to worry about.  It doesn't pinpoint your location or keep track of where you've been.  If I were to look at the database, there may be an entry for a location.  But only one entry.  The average person wouldn't know if it's a cell tower I drove by once or 1000 times.  Just the last time I was near that place.  Could have driven by or it could be the tower I hit every day at work.  No one could really tell based off the data on the phone.  And again, this is just based on what I've been reading.  I've not examined my data since the link it to a Mac program.  Not sure if a Windows program is available.

Quoting ya_shin:

Quote:
Whatever they did with it before, at least they seem to recognize that it can't go on like this and the update seems to correct that.

However,  believe it is in no way dated at this moment...

I will agree that how they were handling that file is less than ideal.  So I'm glad they're adding those changes to the next update.

Still, it's amazing how people took this story and ran with it turning it into something altogether new and more scary.  It's funny how people react with fear rather than science to find out what is really happening.  Because while there are definitely some issues with this file, it is in no way anywhere close to the danger people were claiming.