Cupertino, California-based Apple denied accusations that it is tracking the locations of its iPhone and iPad customers.

Defending itself against accusations, the technology giant said, “Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.”

However, the iPhone-maker acknowledged that it collects data about wireless gear near a customer’s handset. According to the company, it keeps a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around users’ locations to enable users to know their whereabouts more accurately, when required.

Apple also claimed that it could not locate a user based on the stored data, and the data on locations was kept anonymous.

The company added that it would address a software bug that allowed devices to store more data than required. A free software update would be released to reduce the amount of information stored on the devices and allow users to delete hot spot and cell tower data by turning location services off.

Apart from America, Apple is also facing scrutiny in Europe. Regulators in France, Italy and Germany said recently that they were checking if Apple’s devices violate their privacy rules.