Apple Clears Air Over iPhone Tracking

The popular smartphones log Wi-Fi spots and cell towers, and Apple promises quick fixes for privacy conerns.

Apple clarified the news from last week that iPhone 4s were secretly tracking its users' every location, saying the phones only keep a log of cellphone transmission towers and Wi-Fi hotspots near the user. The purpose of that is to make it easier for the phone to pinpoint its location instead of having to rely on faint signals from GPS satellites. Apple did issue a mea culpa over how long that data is stored, saying a year is far too long and that only a week's worth of data would be useful. The tech giant will release a downloadable upgrade for the phone that limits the storing of the geographic data to seven days and keeps the unencrypted data on the phone and not on a personal computer, where such information is much easier for hackers to access.