Bet you never thought about just how smart your “smart phone” really is.  Well, now you should.  In addition to managing your email accounts, voice calls, texting, Facebook, etc…your phone tracks your location and reports back to your carrier on a 1440 basis…that is, every minute of every day.

While this might surprise you, it really shouldn’t.  For example, how many of you are using Google Maps on your phone?  I happen to love this little app on my Blackberry.  I get driving directions, maps, satellite views anytime and anywhere.  I recently used this app in Puerto Rico and it didn’t miss a beat, but did you ever think that the phone has to know where you are to give you directions and…here is the surprise for most – this data is stored after it is created.  So your whereabouts are being recorded.  For most of us, this isn’t really a big deal as I don’t really care if someone knows that I went to Starbucks for a coffee…although my wife might think that I go there too much, so don’t tell her.  As a parent, I welcome the idea of knowing where my kids are. However, it is true that this data could be used inappropriately, and we need to make sure that it is protected.

Interestingly though, this data is proving to be a real asset in the fight against crime. Cell phones are increasingly being used to prove that criminals are travelling to a secret meeting or are at/near the location of crimes.  Law enforcement also has the ability (with the right authority) to listen in on the conversations these folks are having since your carrier can turn on your phone remotely and without you knowing it…just something else to think about.

You may want to keep your eye on this one.  There appears to be quite a debate raging.  Reports indicate that Barack Obama’s Justice Department insists it should have the authority to conduct such tracking without a warrant, although some judges aren’t buying it.

Man, I had no idea my phone was so smart!

Tags: Barack Obama, Cell Phone Technology, Cell Phones, G.1440, iPhone, Larry Fiorino, Tech Topics, technology

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 9:35 am and is filed under Tech Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.