One scenario.

If Apple and android encrypts, would that make any difference in your privacy? Only the hackers would be left out.

And you, since you won’t be able to decrypt the data the device stores either, which leaves this a vehicle of transport that could contain virtually any type of information and you would be none the wiser. Perhaps these third parties would be willing to share their keys with you, or you with them? On the other hand who says these packets of info must be held in a stored file when it could as well be held in memory for transfer at next opportunity if not relayed in (the case of always on cellular connections) near real time?

At its fundamental we should note the distinction between data collection and dissemination within an application versus an operating system. If we are using Google Maps for example, then yes we would likely wish to provide our location information. Saves us having to input the information ourselves and thus a convenience feature. Might want to have the option though. Outside of userland applications? Full time tracking by the OS? Must it be an either/or proposition where we maintain some control over our privacy only at the expense of reduced functionality? Something of a question hardly worth the bother of debate if location tracking is “in application” only and turned off by default. Let the user “opt in” by their program selections and alternately, by their informed approvals wherever location features might be considered optional and not implicit by definition given the core functionality of the program itself.

I have never been a fan of “opt out” whenever users might not realize they have been opted into something by default and small print legalese within click through agreements don’t count in my estimation. I certainly do question location tracking as a core function of an OS and likewise question the motives of any entity that puts it there.

Triangulating against cell phone towers definitely works, and it’s a common tactic in search and rescue missions. But it’s not as accurate as they show on TV–triangulating against available cell towers gets you in the vicinity. Add wi-fi access points to the mix and you can narrow it down a little more. In reality, if the bad guy is at 18th and Vine, triangulation can tell you that, but not which of the four buildings he’s in. Not with certainty. And it certainly can’t tell you what table he’s eating dinner at. On the flip side, I’m sure people who’ve gotten lost in the woods appreciated the rescuers being able to zone in on an area based on a cell phone signal. It’s a two-edged sword. If I were lost in the woods, I’d turn off my phone to save battery power, then turn it back on once I knew someone was looking for me.

But yeah, I’m mostly interested in keeping the hackers out. I have no reason to fear the authorities. Once when someone threatened to call the cops on me, I held out my phone to her and said here, go ahead, call. It’s people with a grudge and no accountability that I fear. And if one of them got hold of my phone and learned more about my daily habits from it, I’d really have reason to be afraid. I’ve been followed by spooks and I’ve been followed by thugs with grudges. I won’t go into the details of either, but I’d much rather have the spooks.