Creepy new feature alert! Creepy new feature alert! Buried in the Settings menu of the latest beta version of iOS 7 is the somewhat unsettling ability to see everywhere you've been since upgrading the operating system. It makes you wonder: Who else can see these maps?
The new feature was pointed out on Wednesday morning by a hacker news commenter and then explored by BuzzFeed's Charlie Warzel who confirmed with Apple that this is a consumer-facing feature, not a developer bonus. You just go to your iPhone Settings, then Privacy, then Location Services, then System Services where you'll see a very curious option to see your Favorite Locations. It is exactly what it sounds like: a map of the places you've visited most frequently, down to the (thankfully slightly inaccurate) street address.
It's fun to take the trip down memory lane and check out the map from your recent trip home to Tennessee or wherever. But it's also a harsh reminder that the little GPS chip in your iPhone is tracking your every move and uploading it to an Apple server somewhere. If you don't like the sound of this, the good news is that you can just turn location services off and put a stop to this monkey business right away. [BuzzFeed]