You won’t just have to worry about keeping track of your next iPhone. You’ll also have to worry about it keeping track of you.
Apple’s new operating system for iPhones and iPads, iOS 7, will track your movements and save your "frequent locations," as one Hacker News commenter discovered on Thursday. So far, only a handful of developers have iOS 7, which will be released to the general public in September. BuzzFeed confirmed with Apple that this location tracking is, indeed, a real iOS 7 feature that will be available to consumers. The Huffington Post reached out to Apple for more information as well.
The screenshots below, posted by a German living in Hamburg, show how the operating system keeps tabs on its owner’s comings and goings.
If you’d rather not have your phone identifying and saving your every move, you can disable the feature. But since the tracking is on by default, many less computer-savvy people won’t realize it’s there.
The goal is seemingly to give you suggestions of nearby places to visit, but most are finding it more scary than helpful. The information gathered isn’t always 100 percent accurate, but it’s accurate enough to be freaky.
Another apparent goal: Improving Apple’s maps themselves, which were widely-derided when released last year. Another screenshot shows that an iPhone owner can enable Apple to use your frequent locations to improve its GPS data.
The discovery drives home why Apple decided to ditch Google Maps and built its own mapping software last year, despite Google’s seven-year head start. Without its own maps app, Apple would have a much harder time building location-based features without help from Google, Microsoft or another rival.
