Future versions of Apple’s iPhone may come equipped with the smartphone version of a LoJack car-recovery system, a patent application filed by the computer giant suggests. The application details a system that can take photos of an unauthorized user, pinpoint his or her location, or even detect the user’s heartbeat patterns after the phone owner reports it lost or stolen.
The technology, which can also be applied to Wi-Fi-equipped iPods and iPads, could notify Apple or the user if the SIM card is removed or if multiple failed log-ins occur.
The Aug. 19 application drew notice in the tech media for its reference to jailbreaking — the process of owners modifying an iPhone to run applications not approved by Apple — as one of the red flags triggering remote action. But while the system might alert Apple if an iPhone has been jailbroken, there’s not much the company can do about it.
The Library of Congress ruled last month that, despite Apple’s protests, “Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications” are exempt from the prohibition against circumventing technological measures that control access to copyrighted works.
That’s as long as the modification is “for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.” So the process is legal, although it voids Apple’s warranty.
Remote Wipe
Previous tracking solutions for wayward iPhones have involved apps that continuously transmit the iPhone’s data via GPS — which only work if the program is running in the background — and one that sends tweets with the phone’s coordinates to a Twitter account. But neither enables remote locking or deletion of data.
Apple used a remote wipe to deactivate a prototype of the iPhone 4 that was lost in a California bar and ended up in the hands of a tech blog last spring.
The trademark application, entitled Systems And Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device, outlines signs of misuse and possible responses.
“When an unauthorized user is detected, various safety measures can be taken,” the application says. “For example, information related to the identity of the unauthorized user, the unauthorized user’s operation of the electronic device, or the current location of the electronic device can be gathered. As another example, functions of the electronic device can be restricted.”
“In some embodiments, the owner of the electronic device can be notified of the unauthorized user by sending an alert notification through any suitable medium, such as, for example, a voice mail, e-mail, or text message.”
Big Brother?
The system could also potentially be used to track the activities of an authorized user. Collecting data on customers’ phone usage is increasingly as easy as it is appealing to carriers, manufacturers, developers and advertisers.
Last week the world’s biggest phone maker, Finland-based Nokia, announced that it will acquire a company to monitor the use of applications and web-site visits on its phones, ostensibly in a bid to determine which apps are the most popular.
“It’s the way the industry is moving,” said wireless analyst Kirk Parsons of J.D. Power and Associates. “The critical element is getting the customer’s permission to sign up and participate in any tracking program or app. Some customers won’t mind, while others will.”
Parsons said that while “the applications are endless as to what could be used in this potential service application,” increasing concern about electronic privacy by Congress and others makes it likely that companies will need customers’ consent to track their usage.
Apple seemed to anticipate concern about privacy when it unveiled iOS 4 earlier this year. The iPhone operating system places a green arrow over applications that transmit location data to give users an option to turn them off.
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