Privacy? What privacy?

The news that the iPhone was tracking your location in a "secret" file had barely broken when more news came out that Android phones are doing the same thing. And then we had the news that yes, Apple and Google are collecting this location data, and in sum, know where we are.

Some folks will cry "havoc" and let slip the dogs of war for privacy. But let's be honest: we knew that something like this was coming. We in the tech industry know that service providers (in the larger sense, from cell phone companies to banks to game vendors) collect data on customers. On-line web sites have been collecting data about customers, from their e-mail addresses to their click-through habits. And government officials have subpoenaed that information and used it for criminal prosecutions (and possibly other purposes).

The advocates of this data collection will say (or perhaps only some will say): "If you don't want your data collected, don't use a cell phone." This is similar to saying, "If you don't like the high cost of gasoline, don't drive a car -- use public transit." In this country, not driving is practical in a small subset of geography; cell phones are about to become a necessity perhaps greater than an automobile.

I'm afraid that Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook was correct. We will sell our privacy for shiny applications and the ability to look cool in front of our friends.