Information shared with 'partners and licensees'

Even though people can now opt out of some iAd tracking data, this does not apply to location information, the LA Times writes. A closer look at the company's new privacy policy for the iTunes Store reveals that Apple has given itself the right to track the "real-time geographic location" of iPhones and other Apple handhelds. The company is further sharing the data with "partners and licensees," who can collect and save it.

Personal details are intended to improve "services, content, and advertising," according to Apple, an example of the first being MobileMe's Find My iPhone function. Although the company also insists that the location data is anonymous, the concern is that patterns in personal information could be used to trace a specific individual. iPhones, iPods and iPads do have options to disable location services, but these only refer to blocking apps from performing data harvesting, not Apple itself.

The terms may feed into industry worries that iAd has an unfair advantage over other advertising networks. Third-party apps are not allowed to gather the same level of analytical data as Apple. The US government is believed to be considering whether or not to add iAd to antitrust investigations.

by MacNN Staff