Apple FINALLY explains why iPhone 11 seems to track users when all apps and services are disabled

As security researcher recently found that Apple‘s iPhone 11 periodically seeks the user’s location even when all applications and system services are set to never request.

Following the unnerving discovery, the tech giant simply responded that it was aware that handsets collect location data and that it is ‘expected behavior’.

However, Apple has comeback with a new answer – its latest iPhones come standard with ultra-wideband technology that ‘is subject to international regulatory requirements that require it to be turned off in certain locations,’ according to TechCrunch who received the statement.

‘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 also explained that this ‘compliance check’ is done by the iPhone itself and the company is not tracking the user when Location Services are disabled in Settings. 

The issue was first found by Brian Krebs of KrebsonSecuirty, a source that conducts in-depth investigations into security issues, who found the issue occurs with the iPhone 11 Pro running on Apple iOS 13.2.3.

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As security researcher recently found that Apple ‘s iPhone 11 (pictured) periodically seeks the user’s location even when all applications and system services are set to never request 

‘Apparently there are some system services on this model (and possibly other iPhone 11 models) which request location data and cannot be disabled by users without completely turning off location services, as the arrow icon still appears periodically even after individually disabling all system services that use location,’ Krebs shared in his report.

Krebs contacted Apple about the issue and was told that ‘this is by design’ and it is ‘expected behavior’ of the technology.

‘We do not see any actual security implications,’ an Apple engineer wrote in a response to KrebsOnSecurity.

‘It is expected behavior that the Location Services icon appears in the status bar when Location Services is enabled. The icon appears for system services that do not have a switch in Settings’.

However, an Apple spokesperson told Zack Whittaker with TechCrunch that its latest iPhones come standard with ultra-wideband technology that ‘is subject to international regulatory requirements that require it to be turned off in certain locations.’ According to the company, ‘iOS uses Location Services to help determine if iPhone is in these prohibited locations in order to disable ultra-wideband and comply with regulations.’ 

The tech giant’s privacy policy states that it ‘will periodically send the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers (where supported by a device) in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to be used for augmenting this crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations’.

Apple’s privacy policy regarding the iPhone 11’s Location Service states that users can disable all location services with just a single swipe in Settings. 

Apple has comeback with a new answer – its latest iPhones come standard with ultra-wideband technology that ‘is subject to international regulatory requirements that require it to be turned off in certain locations,’ according to TechCrunch who received the statement. 

If the option is left on, ‘your iPhone will periodically send the geo-tagged locations of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers (where supported by a device) in an anonymous and encrypted form to Apple, to be used for augmenting this crowd-sourced database of Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations’.

However, Krebs claims that users are not able to turn off location tracker for certain services when using the iPhone 11 Pro – even if they toggle shows it is blocked. 

‘Apparently there are some system services on this model (and possibly other iPhone 11 models) which request location data and cannot be disabled by users without completely turning off location services, as the arrow icon still appears periodically even after individually disabling all system services that use location,’ Krebs shared in his report.

Krebs contacted Apple about the issue and was told that ‘this is by design’ and it is ‘expected behavior’ of the technology.

‘We do not see any actual security implications,’ an Apple engineer wrote in a response to KrebsOnSecurity. 

‘It is expected behavior that the Location Services icon appears in the status bar when Location Services is enabled. The icon appears for system services that do not have a switch in Settings’ [emphasis added].

However, Krebs is not sold on Apple’s claims and believes the firm has ‘some system services that query your location regardless of whether one has disabled this setting individually for all apps and iOS system services’.