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Comment by abofh | Hacker News Reader

I don't think anyones concerned that it tracks you with cached data (47 entries in github example, date spread would imply ~ 1 month) -- the concern w/r/t apple is that there seems to be no limit to the amount of logging retained.

I won't get into paranoia mode, or conspiracy theories, _but_ I am fine with either phone being aware of my location, and even my recent movements (subject to disclosure) -- I am NOT fine with that log being undisclosed and perpetual

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Except it's not tracking your location, it's tracking cell towers. I'm sure a lot of cell phones do this, to a different degree of "log length". The issue I have with a perpetual log of cell towers is not a privacy one, it's a space one (how long will the log be in a couple of years).

But hey, I'm not stopping anyone from hopping into the most recent episode of the iPhone hating bandwagon. It's what makes the internet go round (any hate bandwagon for that matter)

Granted.. it is not tracking your fine location, but rather the location of the towers you connect to. Your location, however, is still reliable to within 200-1000m with triangulation.

http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/cellid.php

And it'd be fine if I didn't track your location, but simply timing data you are receiving from a few GPS satellites?

> Except it's not tracking your location, it's tracking cell towers.

That's true in the sense that mercury thermometers do not measure temperature -- they measure the height of a column of mercury.

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