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Topic: Mobility

Surveillance coming to Find My iPhone?

Summary: Apple is looking at new ways to detect unauthorized iOS usage while providing the user with more control of how an iOS device can be used when reported lost or stolen.

Jason D. O'Grady

By for The Apple Core |

I was intrigued when I read about some cool new features that may be coming soon to Apple's Find My iPhone feature on MacRumors. Having lost and recovered my iPhone after an incident in Orlando* thanks to Find My iPhone, I'm a little extra sensitive to the issue.

If your not familiar, Find My iPhone is a free feature for anyone with an iPhone 4, iPad, or 4th generation iPod touch that allows you to locate your device via GPS simply by going to me.com/find. It's an extremely powerful feature that you need to enable right away if you haven't already. Take it from me, it can save you a lot of money and grief.

Patently Apple uncovered a new Apple patent application that details some new security features that could be coming soon to Find My iPhone. According to the application, Apple is looking at new ways to detect unauthorized usage while providing the user with much more control of how an iOS device can be used when reported lost or stolen.

Some of the features mentioned in the application:

  • Proactively increase the security level on an iOS device if multiple failed password attempts are detected. Under the increased security level, files or other content stored on the mobile device could be selectively protected.
  • Change to surveillance mode where the mobile device records or captures information associated with one or more of user actions, ambient sound, images, a trajectory of the device, and transmits the recorded or captured information to the network resource.
  • Allow users to selectively wipe or scramble sensitive content (i.e. emails, contacts and passwords). This avoids have to completely wipe your device remotely and increasing its chances of recovery.
  • Allow users to selectively enable/disable access to certain features and capabilities on a lost or stolen device. For example, you could turn off features like phone calls, texting, cellular data and VPN, but turn on a simple "Contact John Smythe" button (pictured) to enable its return.

These new features can't come soon enough for me and I hope that they show up in iOS 5.0. Find My iPhone is the first thing that I enable on a new device.

Will Apple turn the iPhone into an iCloud-controlled Tazer? Maybe the iPhone 5 will be able to release tear gas?

*Here's a trio of posts about my iPhone's loss (and eventual return), which I refer to as The Orlando Incident.

Tip: Patently Apple, via MacRumors

Topics: Mobility, Hardware, iPhone, Smartphones

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10 comments
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  • Most of Apple's patents, as well as *any* patents, never get realization

    So patents may include very much (or not) controversial ideas, but this does not mean anything at all.

    Except for, if such patents granted, the owner can stop anyone else from implementing it. ;))
    DDERSSS
    Reply Vote

  • Who cares....

    ....so what....no one cares.
    james347
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Surveillance coming to Find My iPhone?

      @james347 Hey grumpy old man! Way to show your blatant hypocrisy by making a comment like that... obviously you must care if you took the time out of your day to gripe and complain about it. Heck back in your day grumpy dudes would walk uphill both ways in the snow to tell someone they just don't care. BTW Oscar called and he wants his grouchiness back.
      athynz
      Reply Vote

  • Too late... for me...

    My iphone 4 was stolen two months ago in the Buenos Aires (arg) subway. A few minutes after it happened, I immediatly exited the tube, ran to my hotel and got onto my computer to the me.com "find my iphone" page...
    My wife's ipad was there, mine too, my wife's iphone also, but my own iphone was not to be seen anywhere. I think Apple somehow underestimates the thieves. They are quick, clever and resourceful. I think Apple needs to find a way to really lock those iphones down so that only an authorized shop can unlock it. It's too easy to shut the device off, take out the SIM and restore a new iOs on it. It was in my case at least it seems...
    dannau
    Reply Vote

    • Be careful what you wish for

      @dannau

      You may get it. I cannot help but think that every increase in security level can come with a new potential for abuse/monitoring/mischief/privacy-invasions etc. Just imagine if only an authorized shop could unlock the phone. Now you have places Apple between you and selling your iPhone, or maybe you are out of the country and it accidentallly locks up. Whoops, no more phone until you can reach a proper shop. These are items of convenience after all.

      Just a thought.
      oncall
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Surveillance coming to Find My iPhone?

      @dannau I couldn't agree more. I recently had my 32G iPhone 4 stolen and that same night, while I was still at the venue, I found someone else with a phone I could use and mine was already gone for good. I called Apple to ask what the hell good it is when the thief can turn off the phone without a password and the rep played stupid.
      paulfox
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Surveillance coming to Find My iPhone?

      @dannau If a clever thief is engaged into stealing smartphones knows the way the software works nothing is going to stop them from bypassing software security. The first step in any security is physical security. Apple doesn't control the SIM card and frankly if they want it bad enough it's not going to matter then.
      jokila
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Surveillance coming to Find My iPhone?

      @dannau <br>I think that if you turn factory defaults on the Find my iPhone app is useless. You can find more checking these Find my iPhone stories here if you wish. Here's the URL:
      http://findmyiphonestories.com/
      Cheers!
      iphreaky
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Surveillance coming to Find My iPhone?

    Like anything like this, it can be used properly to track your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch if it is lost/stolen. However, I worry about the surveillance mode and how can someone remotely implement it with you (the legitimate user) knowing about it. I worry that a bad person can track and do surveillance someone without their knowledge and use that information to do evil.
    phatkat
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Surveillance coming to Find My iPhone?

    I've bookmarked, Dugg, and I joined the RSS <a href="http://www.reebok-nflshops.com" style="text-decoration: none; color: black;">nflshop</a> subscription. Countless many thanks!
    jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812
    Reply Vote
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