Apple addresses location data snafu with iOS update

Two weeks after it first came to light that Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhones were potentially tracking users whereabouts in a hidden log file, Apple has released an iOS update aimed at addressing the problem and allying consumer and legislators’ concerns.
In the details that came along with the software update, Apple said the update includes “changes to the iOS crowd-sourced location database cache.” The iOS 4.2.8 update (for CDMA-based iPhone 4s) reduces the size of the cache, no longer backs the cache up to iTunes and deletes the cache entirely when location services is turned off, according to Apple.
The discovery prompted lawmakers to step in and ask a series of operating system companies how they track, use, store and share location information. Apple later came out with an informal question-and-answer release that claims it never tracked user locations and has no plans to do so. Apple said the file on the device includes a database of local cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots that is used to assist in location services and is only there to expedite the phone’s feature of identifying where it is.
The company did, however, admit to two bugs in its systems relating to the size of data stored and the ability to turn the feature off. In doing so it announced plans to address both issues in the software update that was just released.