What exactly then are Apple, Google and Microsoft even doing with this data? The devil is in the detail and, as yet, nobody really knows the answer. This is a sticking point for privacy organisations and users alike, who are desperate for greater transparency from these tech giants.
Privacy International (PI) said it had been inundated with calls from concerned iPhone users since the stories broke a positive sign people really do take such issues seriously.
The body said it wanted to hear from Apple in particular, given the tech company's reticence beforehand and the potentially serious consequences of the researchers' findings.
"This information being stored on the device raises concerns about access by third party iOS apps who collect data and share with advertisers, by police and border controls agencies that in many countries routinely look through phones without warrants, as well as access concerns if the phone is lost," said Simon Davies, director at PI, in an open letter to Apple.
"Location is highly sensitive because it can indicate where someone's home is, where they work, what church or political rally they attend," he added. "In the wrong hands this information can be very dangerous."
Should industry players start to play more of a role in debates around privacy and even engage with bodies like the Big Brother Watch and PI? It would surely be to their benefit if they at least appeared to be taking a greater interest, but whether or not that is a big enough driver remains to be seen.
The fact remains, however, that big businesses want this information available to them. They can make money out of it, after all.
Security: A problem?
If the data does get into the "wrong hands," as PI suggested it could, it may not be used for conventional hacking means, but rather for gathering information to supplement real-world attacks.
Indeed, this case has served to highlight the multiple threats which we will most likely come to expect with mobile devices in the future.
"Mobile devices are going to have a whole range of new issues - not just the conventional known threats ported to a new device," said James Lyne, director of technology strategy at Sophos.
"Mobile technology is going to move fast and the kinds of data collected/processed will too. It's not just credit cards or national insurance numbers that are sensitive and regulators and consumers need to keep a close eye on practices here."
Location information on social media sites is already "woven into applications that enable you to identify where users live and when they are on holiday," Lyne noted.
So it's not just personal or corporate privacy at stake here. It's personal safety too.
