Posted on April 20, 2011 at 8:27pm by Emily Esfahani Smith

Security researchers have discovered the latest operating system powering the iPhone and iPad keeps a log of everywhere you go, recording both the location and time you were there.

The feature has been around since June 2010, meaning some iPhones have nearly a year of location history recorded in a single file — every step, trip to the park, family vacation and more. And that, said security experts Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, who uncovered the file, poses serious problems.

Fox Business Network’s Gerri Willis reports:

According to The Guardian:

The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone’s recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner’s movements using a simple program.

For some phones, there could be almost a year’s worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple‘s iOS 4 update to the phone’s operating system, released in June 2010.

“Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you’ve been,” said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.

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