Not entirely cool with the idea of your iPhone or iPad following your every move without your consent? Understandable! Luckily, only a day after the privacy revelation, a fix has been cooked up that switches off Apple’s covert tracking.
The root of the tracking problem is a single file that logs your location. Untrackerd nukes that file. Although it requires a jailbroken device, it’s a cinch to use—it simply runs in the background, erasing that dubious database file: ‘A package installs a daemon (process that can run in the background) to clean consolidated.db file) No new icons are added to your homescreen. There are no options to configure.”
Sounds good to us! This is, however, only a bandaid—a fairly inconvenient bandaid. This is a problem that affects and potentially compromises the privacy of every single iPhone and iPad user. And most of these users aren’t ever going to consider jailbreaking.
So as much as Untrackerd is a laudable effort, it answers none of the underlying questions about why this data was being logged in the first place. If we want to be sure that our every travel isn’t easily served up to Apple, the government, or who knows what else, the only real fix will come in the form of change from the top—the only real fix will be one that comes from Apple, allowing all users to opt-out of the tracking with a simple tap. Or hey, crazy idea—don’t have it enabled to begin with. [via TNW]