Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Where we you on April 3, 2015? If you don’t remember, your smartphone probably does.
Smartphones have a location service that is made for GPS and other apps, but included in this is a memory of what you've been doing. These services can also keep tabs on exactly where you are at all times.
For those with iPhones: Go to the privacy settings inside the main settings. Click on locations services, then system services at the bottom and scroll down and you will see “Frequent Locations.” Inside that tab you will see where you have been and how many times, assuming you’ve had some GPS connection or WiFi signal.
Dates and exact times? All there.
Also, Android users shouldn’t be relieved because those phones will send the information straight to Google.
Apple says that the information is used to provide personal services, adding that the information won’t be used or released without your consent. Of course, that might have be included in one of the iTunes agreements that we all blindly click on.
Google hasn’t said anything about releasing information — because they are already taking the information — however, there is a way to opt out on both your Android and Google account.
Jim Stickley, a tech security expert, showed that Google’s information can be seen on any computer — literally any computer.
“It knows exactly where I was this morning, where I was sleeping, how long I slept for, when I arrived here, and it knows where I’m sitting,” Stickley said. “You can be at any computer anywhere in the world to pull this up.”
To turn off the function on an Android, go to apps and then you hit settings. Scroll down to privacy and safety then hit location and there is "Google location history." Slide the bar and the service is off.
For Apple, you just follow those steps above and slide off the Frequent Locations tab.
Of course, if you aren’t worried about Big Brother watching you, these functions have some benefits. Apple’s iPhones can use the information to track your movement to get better timing on travel. Of course, the use of GPS and location services can help find your phone or in extreme cases find missing people.
