Locationgate

25-year-old Trevor Eckhart discovered a "rootkit" hidden in various Android handsets that logs information like text messages, location and encrypted web searches. The company behind the software, Carrier IQ, claims their technology is an innocent diagnostics tool that doesn't record keystrokes or illegally track users. However, Eckhart's YouTube video below seems to suggest otherwise. On Thursday, Apple joined several other carriers and manufacturers in coming clean about using the software. Here is their statement in full (via All Things D):

“We stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.”

Apple was fined 3 million won ($2,830) by the South Korea communications regulator for collecting location data from iPhone users without their knowledge.

In April, U.S. researchers discovered that iPhones stored location files for up to a year. Apple claimed that they weren't tracking users, but that the files were used as part of their GPS system to track Wi-Fi hotspots and cell phone tower locations. The company eventually admitted that a year was too long, and changed it to seven days with the release of iOS 4.3.3.

Ater a four-month investigation, the KCC ordered Apple Korea to pay the small fine for violating their location information laws. The Korea Communications Commission said Apple has been collecting the data from June 22, 2010, through May 4, 2011.