Are you an iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro user? You may have come across a situation where your iPhone 11 is sharing the location data even when you have deactivated the feature across all your apps and other services. The precisely same concern was raised by Brian Krebs, who is a security reporter.
Krebs had even taken it up with Apple and showed how the location data is being shared even when the services were deactivated. He had also shared a video to show the issue and had come to the conclusion that it was a privacy bug.
The only option you could prevent the data being shared was to deactivate it under the main Settings completely.
After the report by Krebs, there was a massive outcry on this privacy violation of a sort and the information was shared via major tech media sites and services.
Now, after noticing the uproar, Apple has promptly and finally admitted the issue but has explained why it has been maintained so. However, we would expect the need for further inputs and analysis from the technology experts on this explanation. It may be noticed that Apple had declined to comment on the issue.
Apple has explained that the new iPhone models come with Ultra Wideband Technology. The devices like iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max come with the feature and need the location data for determining whether other devices with the same technology are available within its range and location.
Apple's new iPhone 11 Pro seeks the user's location info even when all apps and system services on the phone are individually set to never request it. Apple says this is by design, but that response seems at odds w/ the company's own privacy policy. https://t.co/PH8XBmhZrv pic.twitter.com/3foAOSd3nM
— briankrebs (@briankrebs) December 4, 2019
Apple claims that the functionality has been mainly focussed for providing “spatial awareness” so that “So users can do things like share a file with someone using AirDrop simply by pointing at another user’s iPhone,”, as per the statement from Apple reads.
Apple has also stated that a future update to the operating system will offer the option to disable the functionality of Spatial discovery.
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