Consolidated.db

Revision as of 22:22, 16 March 2016

consolidated.db is the file which some versions of Apple's iOS system (for iPhones and iPads) use to "secretly" keep track of their past locations, thus giving a history of where their users have been. It's secret in the sense that nothing has been openly documented in a highly visible manner to the effect that such a log is being kept (though who knows what they might be hiding buried in the long agreement you must click through to use their stuff), much less telling anybody how to find it, read it, delete it, etc. However, third-party investigators have discovered it and documented quite a bit of information about where it can be found, what its format is, and even created utilities to help you deal with it.

The file is in SQLite format, and while the original on the iOS device itself is not readily accessible to apps, etc., it does get copied to a Mac or PC as part of system backups upon syncing, and is then accessible to the user there.

Links

• Hidden iPhone file records your location coordinates
• iPhoneTracker - Mac utility to view this data
• Info on accessing the file from Windows
• Info on disabling this "feature"