iOS update attempts to put location tracking controversy to rest

Apple on Wednesday released the iOS 4.3.3 update, the biggest of changes having to deal with the location database that has made the company a target of a good deal of criticism as of late. As part of the changes in the new software, a user can now choose to have the database deleted altogether.

"The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it's maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location," Apple said in a Q&A last week. It stated that a bug was causing the file to continue being maintained even after location services was turned off, and would be fixed shortly.

Wednesday's update does just that: first, the size of the cache has been reduced, and it is no longer backed up to iTunes during syncing. Additionally, if the user decides to turn location services off, the database is deleted altogether -- something Apple did not specify it would do in last week's Q&A.

This update is for GSM versions of the iPhone, but iOS 4.2.8 has also been released for the CDMA model, which deals with the same location database issues.

Originally, the company had promised the update "in a matter of weeks." The speed with which Apple dealt with the building controversy seems to indicate that the company is quite eager to put the issue behind it.

While not specified, the latest update to iOS likely contains other fixes as well, according to reporting by Boy Genius Report. The site said that earlier builds included battery life improvements as well as unspecified "iPod bug fixes."