Federal Officials to Look Into iPhone Tracking Report

Federal officials and members of Congress say they'll be looking into reports that Apple's popular iPhones and iPads have been secretly tracking and recording users' locations.

A report published on the website O'Reilly Radar found that software on the devices has been collecting and storing the information in unencrypted files.

"Ever since iOS 4 arrived, your device has been storing a long list of locations and time stamps," the researchers concluded. "We're not sure why Apple is gathering this data, but it's clearly intentional, as the database is being restored across backups, and even device migrations."

On Wednesday, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., sent a letter to Apple seeking more information on the issue.

"There are numerous ways in which this information could be abused by criminals and bad actors," he wrote. Franken went on to question why Apple is collecting the information at all.

And in the House, Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., issued a statement saying he is "deeply disturbed" by the report.

"I have been concerned that current law fails to ensure consumers are protected from privacy violations," he said. "Consumers are often left to learn of these breaches of privacy from hackers and security experts because companies fail to disclose what data they are collecting and for what purpose."

Officials at the Federal Communications Commission have also said they would be looking into the issue.