Your smartphone is so smart, it knows where you've been and when you've been there.

It was big news last week when a couple of developers identified a 'secret, unencrypted file' on iPhones and 3G iPad that track everywhere the device goes and, by extension, everywhere YOU go. This shouldn't really be a surprise; Android and Windows Phone 7 handsets do this too.

Smartphones have really evolved; using data from cell sites, WiFi hotspots and even built-in GPS, your smartphone can identify your physical location within just a few metres (or yards if you are old school like me). The tech term for this feature is: geo-location.

Geo-location services can be so cool. Using geo-location services, we can get directions to where we want to go on interactive maps (i.e. Google Maps), we can post tips on places we visit, find friends wherever in the world they may be (i.e. Foursquare), and we can know exactly where a specific panoramic shot was taken (i.e. picture properties). Soon, Jamaica will further exploit the potential of geo-location services to track traffic and offer coupons based on businesses and stores we frequent.

Geo-location services

Can't find your phone? No problem, just go online using apps like Find My iPhone, to see its location on a map. Need to know where your children are? No problem, turn to an app like Google Latitude to check up on them.

Geo-location services can be so dangerous. Jealous partners, law enforcement, employers or even criminals may be able to access your movements, especially if your daily whereabouts are stored over time.

It is the long data storage that has become of great concern with the news about iPhone and 3G iPad tracking since the update of the iOS 4.0 software in June of last year. That's a long time to be tracking someone. The data is kept in the unencrypted consolidated DB file, and synchronised with your computer via iTunes. It is also sent to Apple.

Another cause for concern is that, you cannot 'turn off' the data collection. Even if you used the settings to disable location services, the device would still continue to collect your position, based on your proximity to cell towers. This is said to be a 'bug' due to be fixed with the next update.

The primary difference between what Apple has been caught red-handed doing and what Android and Windows Phone 7 (WP7) handsets are doing is the location of the location data. Aggregate data is transmitted to Google and Microsoft and the resulting database is used to improve location- based services like real-time traffic updates (which we could really use in Kingston), instead of being stored on the handset itself. That alone makes the tracking data less accessible to criminals with physical access to your phone. Realistically, the data is still accessible, however, to hackers and law enforcement.

modern society

Seems like we can't truly hide where we've been going in this modern society, but we can take steps to limit how much information we share. Take a moment to explore your phone and turn off geo-tracking within apps that don't absolutely need it, like Twitter and the camera. don't post personal pictures with embedded geo-tags; and do encrypt ALL the data on your phone, just in case it gets lost or stolen.

TECH CORNER

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To the best of my knowledge, all three local telecoms provide support for the Playbook, so it should work. But, if you wait about a month, the Playbook, with dealer support and warranties, will be available right here in Jamaica. Good things come to those who wait.

Fitzroy writes, "I want to buy the new RIM Blackberry Playbook in the United States and use it in Jamaica, will it work?"