Well this one has gone around the web like wildfire. I’ve had four people email on the subject this evening already.
Link: EXCLUSIVE: Apple Secretly Tracking iPhone IMEI and Usage (with proof)
As I sit here applying a new layer of Reynolds tin foil to my international hat of conspiracy, its been proven that Apple tracks iPhone usage and tracks IEMI numbers of all their iPhones worldwide. Hidden in the code of the ‘Stocks†and ‘Weather†widgets is a string that sends the IMEI of your phone to a specialized URL that Apple collects.
How much of a ‘biggie’ is this?
Well. That entirely depends on your perspective. On one hand, it’s just a handset ID number and used, for example, as a unique identifier and for nothing else. On the other hand, your usage data is being added to the Apple collective…
I’m surprised more handset manufacturers don’t do this – I’d have though they would be able to produce much better handsets if the phone reported what customer spent most time doing, which website they visited on their phone etc.