The Cupertino company has finally decided to explain why its latest applephones monitor users’ location. A new chip is to blame
A few days ago, the well-known American journalist specializing in tech Brian Krebs published an article on his blog, KrebsonTechnology, in which he showed that the iPhone 11 Pro (and also other Apple smartphones) constantly monitor the location of users. Even if the user has disabled all features that require geolocation.
Now Apple, after several requests from other journalists as well, has decided to explain why this abnormal behavior of its iPhones. Previously, however, the Cupertino company had limited itself to answering Krebs that “We don’t see any security issues. It is predictable behavior for the Location Services icon to appear in the status bar when they are active. The icon appears for system services that do not have a switch to be disabled.” But what are these phantom “system services” that can’t be disabled?
Ultra-wideband technology and user tracking
The answer lies in two words: Ultra-wideband technology. That is in the technology recently introduced by Apple in the iPhone, which allows iOS (through the famous “Location Services”) to know if there are other compatible devices nearby. This feature, enabled by the new U1 chip, is currently used only for file sharing via AirDrop. According to Apple, moreover, location tracking comes only from the application of international regulations.
Why the iPhone tracks users
In practice, Apple explains, regulations require that Ultra-wideband technology be disabled in certain areas. As a result, every few minutes the smartphone must check its location and, if it coincides with a prohibited area, it must disable Ultra-wideband. But, Apple explains, iPhones don’t collect any data on users during these location measurements.
What is the U1 chip for UWB used for
The U1 chip that is said to be the source of the need to continuously track the location of the iPhone 11 is used to use the Ultra-wideband (UWB) standard. This standard involves sending and receiving radio waves with ultra-short signal durations, allowing for very fast data transmission over short distances. Some believe that this technology may make Bluetooth obsolete in the future, but iPhones currently remain compatible with it as well, and what’s more, they only use UWB for AirDrop.