So Your Phone Is Tracking You? You Asked For It

Smartphone users have to balance privacy vs. convenience in wake of revelations

SAN FRANCISCO — If you're worried about privacy, you can turn off the function on your smartphone that tracks where you go. But that means giving up the services that probably made you want a smartphone in the first place. After all, how smart is an iPhone or an Android if you can't use it to map your car trip or scan reviews of nearby restaurants?

The debate over digital privacy flamed higher last week with news that Apple's popular iPhones and iPads store users' GPS coordinates for a year or more. Phones that run Google's Android software also store users' location data. And not only is the data stored — allowing anyone who can get their hands on the device to piece together a chillingly accurate profile of where you've been — but it's also transmitted back to the companies to use for their own research.

More