OpenPaths: Save Your Location Data In The Cloud & Donate It To Research
by Joe White
May 12, 2011
OpenPaths (https://openpaths.cc) is an online service that allows iOS device owners to upload their location data to "the cloud," and even donate the data to research.
Recently, it was discovered that iOS devices record the location of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers. With a third party desktop app or website, it's possible to extract this data from your iOS device, and effectively plot a map of your recent - or not so recent - movements.
While the presence of this feature upset many Apple fans, one website is taking a different approach. OpenPaths encourages iOS device owners to upload their data to its website, where users can "revisit up to a year of [their] personal travel history."
Furthermore, users of the website can choose to "securely and anonymously" donate their location data to researchers, "who could use it to study mobility, transportation, land use, epidemiology, and overall make the world a better place."
OpenPaths requires a desktop app to be installed on your computer, which pulls the location data off your iOS device when it's connected via USB. Furthermore, the app can scan iTunes and Time Machine backups, extracting as much location information as possible. This is important, as Apple's recently released iOS 4.3.3 software update reduces the amount of location data stored on iOS devices to just seven days' worth.
For more information, head over to OpenPaths' website at https://openpaths.cc. And if you decide to take the service for a spin, let us know in the comments.
[via 9to5Mac]
