Apple tells developers that location-based advertising is a no-no

In a recent post to its iPhone Developers news site, Apple warned developers not to use location data to serve location-specific ads in their apps. The move comes shortly after Apple acquired its own mobile advertising firm, Quattro Wireless. Apple wants developers to use CoreLocation, the API that allows developers to find your location based on GPS coordinates and other data, to give users "beneficial information." This concept is at work when Yelp shows you nearby restaurants, or when RunKeeper tracks your jogging progress on a map. However, the company warns, "[i]f your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store."