Last week it was brought to everyone’s attention that a hidden Apple IOS version 4 feature is secretly tracking and saving geolocation data on iphone and iPads. This data is also stored on any computer you are using iTunes to sync the device(s).

A video of Warden and Allan discussing their discovery is below, courtesy of O’Reilly and Where 2.0. The two have also published a FAQ that provides more details on the discovery and its implications.

Later that week there was the talks of this same type of information being collected and stored on droid mobile devices. According to new research by security analyst Samy Kamkar, an HTC Android phone collected its location every few seconds and transmitted the data to Google at least several times an hour. It also transmitted the name, location and signal strength of any nearby Wi-Fi networks, as well as a unique phone identifier.

According to research firm Gartner, Google and Apple are gathering location information as part of their race to build massive databases capable of pinpointing people’s locations via their cellphones. These databases could help them tap the market for location-based services.

And now today it has been reported that the Windows phone is also collecting and sending location data to Microsoft. Microsoft has said that when location services for Windows phones are switched on, the devices transmit a unique ID along with nearby wireless networks, their signal strength, and GPS-extracted location to the company’s servers. They are also claiming that Windows phones don’t store any of the locations on the device itself.