iPhone cell tower/tracking data

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Level 1

8 points

iPhone cell tower/tracking data

As many will probably remember, a while back Apple got into some PR trouble when it was discovered that your iPhone stored cell phone tower/wifi data in a file called condolidated.db, which was unencrypted and available in your phone backups. A lot of noise was made about this, apps were written that let the user look at their phone location history, etc. Apple started encrypting this data shortly there after. My questions is this: Is there any current way to get at this data? Does anyone know of any recent apps (either consumer grade or professional) that give you access to this info, or is it simply no longer available?

Posted on Jun 3, 2013 9:04 AM

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Answer 1

KiltedTim

Level 10

204,850 points

Jun 3, 2013 9:10 AM in response to BrawnyMan

Not using any data stored on the phone, no.

The cellular carrier servicing the phone has precise location data for the device. The can and will produce that information when presented with a court order to do so.

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Answer 2

BrawnyMan Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 3, 2013 10:21 AM in response to KiltedTim

Thanks for the reply. I had assumed the same thing, and I tried contacting Verizon on this matter. They claimed that they could locate the phone in real time for the police, but nothing in the past (not even tower data for previous phone calls which I find kind of odd.) do you think I was just talking to a tier 1 guy who didn't know what he was talking about? I know the phone was in use over a given time period, during which several phone calls and texts were placed. It seems like Verizon has to have data about which towers they originated from. With a subpoena, would they be more helpful?

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Answer 3

KiltedTim

Level 10

204,850 points

Jun 3, 2013 10:38 AM in response to BrawnyMan

If you don't have a court order in your hand, they are not going to admit to you that they can track previous locations.

They have the data. They have produced the data in the past with a court order, and apparently without one when it was requested by certain departments within the Federal Government (DHS, DOJ, NSA, etc).

They are NOT going to give it to an individual.

If you need access to that information for some reason, consult an attorney.

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