Jobs admits errors with iPhone data

Hoping to put to rest a growing controversy over privacy, Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, took the unusual step of personally explaining that while Apple had made mistakes in how it handled location data on its mobile devices, it had not used the iPhone and iPad to keep tabs on the whereabouts of its customers.

“We haven’t been tracking anybody,” Jobs said in an interview. “Never have. Never will.”

Jobs said that Apple would fix the mistakes in a free software update that it would release in the next few weeks.

Jobs, currently on medical leave, addressed the issue along with two Apple executives — Philip W Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, and Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone software. A week ago, two researchers reported that they had discovered a file in Apple’s devices containing what appeared to be data of the locations visited by users over the previous 12 months. The discovery raised fears that Apple was tracking its users and prompted investigations by various European governments and demands for explanations from US lawmakers.

©2011 The New York
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