The iPhone 11 Pro would be collecting location data from users even when GPS is disabled, according to a report by digital security expert Brian Krebs of the website Krebs On Security, this Tuesday (3). The researcher recorded a video that catches data collection on his cell phone, and alerted Apple to the bug in early November.
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The company then claimed that this behavior would be restricted to some services of the cell phone's operating system that, from time to time, consult the location of the device. Subsequently, to the technology site TechCrunch, Apple also said it would allow for a more detailed configuration in a future update, to preserve the privacy of users.
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The specialist Krebs explains that the situation occurs even if the user disables GPS, the collection of location data and turns off the permissions of each application, individually.
According to the company's terms of use regarding the use of location data, the iPhone (iOS) may collect information of this type from time to time and send it to Apple anonymously. At first, the data would be used to create a base of Wi-Fi access points and cell phone antenna locations.
iPhone 11 Pro records the user's location even with the feature turned off Photo: Thssius Veloso / dnetc
However, as noted by the website 9to5Mac, the situation caught conflicts with Apple's promise to guarantee the user greater control over the personal information that is collected and shared by the iPhone. One of the promises of iOS 13, the latest version of the brand's mobile operating system, is to ensure more privacy for users.
To the site TechCrunch, Apple gave better explanations on the subject, and said that the reason lies in the use of ultra-broadband technology by the latest iPhone models. According to the company, it is a standard "subject to international regulations that require it to be turned off in certain places".
Also according to the statement, "iOS uses location services to determine whether the iPhone is in these prohibited locations to disable ultra-broadband and comply with regulations", and this management "is done entirely on the device and Apple is not collecting user location data ".
The chief executive of the Guardian Firewall and iOS security expert Will Strafach said on Twitter that there was no evidence that location data would be sent to remote servers. Strafach, however, also questioned why Apple had not explained the situation before.
FWIW, tried to dig into this and replicate.it is very likely that it is something locally which does not have an exposed switch, no evidence of data sent to remote servers. begs the question: why does Apple not answer for this directly? https://t.co/5Ht2hA30CR
– December 5, 2019
Apple said, finally, that it will work on an update that allows to disable the configuration, demonstrated by Brian Krebs in the video below.
* Rubens Achilles collaborated
