Apple is preparing yet another iOS update, this one largely designed to remove all concern related to the recent iOS user-tracking scandal.
In early April, two prominent security researchers discovered that the iPhone maintains a location log that includes longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates as well as a timestamp. Each time the iPhone is synced to the computer a new log file is created.
Last week, Apple said that providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy “has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite.”
Rather than a soundbite, Apple will address the problem with the release of iOS 4.3.3.
On Monday, the early build of iOS 4.3.3 was obtained by Boy Genius Report.
BGR says that the update will be release in mi-May, if not sooner. As expected, the iOS 4 update will cease to back up the location database file to iTunes when a user syncs their iPhone or iPad. Apple will also scale back on the size of the file and equally slash the length of time that location data is maintained.
iOS 4.3.3 will fully delete the database file when Location Services are turned off on their device.
