Like iPhones, Microsoft phones secretly track you too

[Socio]

Like iPhones, Microsfot phones secretly track you too

Microsoft collects locations of Windows phone users

Like Apple and Google, Microsoft collects records of the physical locations of customers who use its mobile operating system.

Windows Phone 7, supported by manufacturers including Dell, HTC, LG, Nokia, and Samsung, transmits to Microsoft a miniature data dump including a unique device ID, details about nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the phone's GPS-derived exact latitude and longitude.

A Microsoft representative was not immediately able to answer questions that CNET posed this afternoon, including how long the location histories are stored and how frequently the phone's coordinates are transmitted over the Internet. Windows Phone currently claims about a 6 percent market share but, according to IDC, will capture about 21 percent by 2015 thanks to Microsoft's partnership with Nokia.

Starting to wonder if these tracking features are not something "big brother" mandated.

[ViN86]

Originally Posted by Socio

Like iPhones, Microsfot phones secretly track you too

Microsoft collects locations of Windows phone users



Starting to wonder if these tracking features are not something "big brother" mandated.

They aren't, they go back to what I said in the thread regarding iPhones. It's mostly for tower locations and a general guide to the most recent location so the phone can do things like get weather or stupid things like that which are location dependent.

Now the MS one seems to be more invasive than the others. Since it sends info to MS all the time about location and WiFi networks and what not. That seems completely unnecessary and I question their motives.

I don't care if my phone tracks me, as long as the file is secure, and the data is not sent to Apple/Microsoft/Google or anyone else.