Your iPhone is secretly tracking you!
A reminder why I am a snob against iPhone/iPod/iPad - most all things Apple.
I posted on my 
status the other day when I saw this story on Digi-life via the Today Show then again on CNN. I am not naive about all things electronic these days; I love and welcome technology and follow it to a tee as a matter of fact. I know the pro's and con's of it all. I read the George Orwell novel, 1984 (1949), back in the day when I was in high school and several times thereafter. I knew technology would one day become too advanced for our britches, per se, and that modern-day society might benefit from certain things, but that we would be in a dismal state as far as our privacy was concerned.
A reminder why I am a snob against iPhone/iPod/iPad - most all things Apple.
I posted on my 
status the other day when I saw this story on Digi-life via the Today Show then again on CNN. I am not naive about all things electronic these days; I love and welcome technology and follow it to a tee as a matter of fact. I know the pro's and con's of it all. I read the George Orwell novel, 1984 (1949), back in the day when I was in high school and several times thereafter. I knew technology would one day become too advanced for our britches, per se, and that modern-day society might benefit from certain things, but that we would be in a dismal state as far as our privacy was concerned. Apple is not the only company putting GPS (tracking) chips in its electronics. I am not such an anti-Apple snob that I do not recognize and admit such things; other companies are doing this without the public's knowledge and they get away with it. The reason why I publicly pick on (pardon the pun) and downgrade Apple is because they are usually the leaders in the electronic industry and of high-tech innovation and they make billions but never do they share their underlying logistical methods with us, the consumers. They sell their products to the public without warning that their products have these chips (GPS) embedded in them that tracks where we are at any time during the day. Let us, the consumer, decide if we want that feature or if we wish to opt out.
Under-handed schemes such as this by the likes of companies like Apple has given way for other companies (perhaps just as unethical) to engineer algorithms in order to come up with programs which coincides with the GPS chips that tracks our whereabouts into an app that is just as invasive and obtrusive as the chips themselves. Consumers can buy these apps which maps and details where he/she was all day long, at what time, precise location (longitude/latitude) and other data. Having access to this data is fine if the consumer wants to know these things, but it hinders on my rights when such data is then sold or shared with tele-marketing companies and such. That is where this consumer draws the line. Why is everything or anything I do via apps and such have to be shared with third-party companies and especially why is it done without my explicit approval. Let me decide.
If a consumer wishes to have access to their own data and is okay with it being done behind their back or not then is shared or sold down the line, that is his/her business. To me data like that is simply cumbersome plus much too private and really just my own damned business. But again if a consumer is that gullible, naive, inquisitive or just plain in need of such entertainment and wants to buy an app that traces your entire day's history and if you are okay with companies like Apple placing these chips in your electronics without letting you know they are there and without letting it be your choice...c'est la vie to that consumer, but heed the old adage, the warning: 'caveat emptor'! These companies do not have your best interest in mind, they simply want to sell your data to others in order to make more and more money.
I am not so sure I would even want to have these tracking systems on my child's cell phone; some say it is good in the event a child is kid-napped. If that is a necessity for a consumer, good luck to you. I realize children get lost, stolen all the time and that it happens to the most caring and doting parent...to them I say "take a chance". But at the end of the day, give consumers a heads up and let us decide.
Under-handed schemes such as this by the likes of companies like Apple has given way for other companies (perhaps just as unethical) to engineer algorithms in order to come up with programs which coincides with the GPS chips that tracks our whereabouts into an app that is just as invasive and obtrusive as the chips themselves. Consumers can buy these apps which maps and details where he/she was all day long, at what time, precise location (longitude/latitude) and other data. Having access to this data is fine if the consumer wants to know these things, but it hinders on my rights when such data is then sold or shared with tele-marketing companies and such. That is where this consumer draws the line. Why is everything or anything I do via apps and such have to be shared with third-party companies and especially why is it done without my explicit approval. Let me decide.
If a consumer wishes to have access to their own data and is okay with it being done behind their back or not then is shared or sold down the line, that is his/her business. To me data like that is simply cumbersome plus much too private and really just my own damned business. But again if a consumer is that gullible, naive, inquisitive or just plain in need of such entertainment and wants to buy an app that traces your entire day's history and if you are okay with companies like Apple placing these chips in your electronics without letting you know they are there and without letting it be your choice...c'est la vie to that consumer, but heed the old adage, the warning: 'caveat emptor'! These companies do not have your best interest in mind, they simply want to sell your data to others in order to make more and more money.
I am not so sure I would even want to have these tracking systems on my child's cell phone; some say it is good in the event a child is kid-napped. If that is a necessity for a consumer, good luck to you. I realize children get lost, stolen all the time and that it happens to the most caring and doting parent...to them I say "take a chance". But at the end of the day, give consumers a heads up and let us decide.
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