Apple Inc. denied that its iPhones are tracking the location of users, responding to criticism that it was using data to help tap the market for location-based services.

Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.

In response to worries about location tracking, Apple said it would release a new software update that would cut the size of a wireless hotspot location database stored on its popular iPhones, and stop backing up that information. The software will be released in the next few weeks, it said.

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch; Editing by Derek Caney)