Apple promised that iOS 4.3.3 will solve the location logging problem in iOS saying that everything is just a bug of the operating system. Of course, everyone received the statements from Apple with uncertainty, such as the magazine PCMag decided to test iOS 4.3.3 to check if the logins are logged in the same way as before. To the joy of those who were scared that they were being followed, iOS 4.3.3 no longer logs locations, so you can go where you want without any problem.
PCMag used 3 different methods to check if the login is done in the same way. In the first method, they used the iPhoneTrackapp application to check if an iOS backup contains location information. To their surprise, none of the tested iPhone terminals displayed the locations through which the users passed.
When we tested this a few weeks ago, the results were clear: while rogue location points peppered the map, for the most part, results appeared surprisingly accurate, showing that the iPhone tracked us to and from work and followed us on vacation. This time, however, there was nothing. Neither of the iPhones we tested showed any evidence of location data being collected and stored in the backup files.
The second test method consisted of manually searching the files inside the iPhone terminals to check if the files really log as much information as before. To their surprise, the file found in the iPhone was only 24KB in size compared to the 380KB of the old one, and no location information was found in it. So everything that Apple has said so far is verified.
This time around, however, that same file contained almost no data whatsoever. Any data it did collect wasn't related to tracking. It is also interesting to note that the size of this file has shrunk 15-fold. Before the iOS 4.3.3 upgrade, the file weighed 380KB. Afterward: 24KB.
The last method had the application in the foreground Lantern used by the American police to discover what is in iDevices, an application that I presented to you here. Fortunately for us, no information about users' locations could be discovered even with the Lantern application, although all the other information from the phone was found in the backup: SMS, calls, pictures, etc.
While Lantern did an outstanding job retrieving everything from voicemails to text messages from the devices, post-iOS 4.3.3, it found no location-based information on either phone, with or without Location Services enabled. This leads us to conclude that iOS 4.3.3 has either hidden, encrypted, or moved location-based information in such a way that it is either invisible to even dedicated forensics software or, more likely, that it is no longer tracking that information.
In conclusion, iOS 4.3.3 no longer logs location data, no longer transfers the file with that data through iTunes, and does not log locations when the Location Services function is closed. Apple seems to have solved all the problems, it remains to be seen for how long.
