Several mobile application developers and news sites are now reporting the Palm Pre smartphone is sending phone owner locations back to Palm, with GPS coordinates and other information sent back to the company each day.
Developer Joey Hess said he noticed "that it periodically uploads information to Palm," noting the "first thing sent is intended to be my GPS location. It's the same location I get if I open the map app on the Pre."
Hess admitted when he decided to write about it the location wasn't "very accurate," but he has "seen it be accurate enough to find" his house.
The Internet firestorm is just now beginning, with Palm already under heavy criticism over possible spying. The company has issued a canned statement to the media, attempting to ease any worries of Pre owners.
"Palm takes privacy very seriously, and offers users ways to turn data collecting services on and off. Our privacy policy is like many policies in the industry and includes very detailed language about potential scenarios in which we might use a customer's information, all toward a goal of offering a great user experience," Palm said in a statement to the media. "For instance, when location based services are used, we collect their information to give them relevant local results in Google Maps. We appreciate the trust that users give us with their information, and have no intention to violate that trust."
If it's true that it's a simple matter of turning collecting services on or off, then Palm should have stepped up and said this in the beginning. Instead, it looks like the company is trying to save face after being caught with its hand in the cookie jar.
Aside from the Pre owner's location, app usage and duration of use, app crash logs, and installed apps are also sent back to Palm -- some privacy advocates are against this, but most users are willing to put up with information like this being relayed back if improvements are made. However, sending a user's location -- especially without permission -- is something most phone owners are likely not okay with.
News like this frightens me. I'm not overly concerned about anyone knowing my location because I'm up to no good, but I don't want to be tracked. I understand all of the wonderful advantages of using GPS and radio frequency identification in today's world, but privacy concerns and possible spying makes me rethink if the risk is worth it.
Does this also concern you? Why or why not?
