Apple releases fresh warning for millions of iPhone users the world over
08 December, 2019
Apple appears to be in a bit of a soup as they have now admitted that the settings in countless iPhones have been misleading about their use of location data which they promise to fix.
This admission was released to TechCrunch after a research was published by security specialist Brian Krebs who details that Apple’s latest iPhone 11 lineup are gathering information about users’ location even when it has been specifically stopped from the iPhone settings. Krebs states that this is in direct violation of Apple’s very own privacy policy.
Apple initially dismissed these findings as “expected behavior.” However, Apple has backtracked on its words and state that the Ultra wideband chip is responsible for these background checks.
Apple states, “Ultra wideband technology is an industry standard technology and is subject to international regulatory requirements that require it to be turned off in certain locations. iOS uses Location Services to help determine if an iPhone is in these prohibited locations in order to disable ultra wideband and comply with regulations.”
Apple goes on to say, “The management of ultra wideband compliance and its use of location data is done entirely on the device and Apple is not collecting user location data.” The initial findings are said to back up this statement.
What’s truly shocking is Apple’s next course of action. A report by Forbes adds, “Having claimed it had to follow international regulatory requirements, the company now says it will enable these background location checks to be disabled in an upcoming iOS update. Which means they didn’t need to be done in the first place.”
What is imperative right now is that Apple should just own up to this in the first place and it will raise eyebrows amongst those who are extremely protective of their privacy.
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