Privacy

Pwn20wnd advises jailbreakers to avoid impending software update despite FaceTime bug

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 29, 2019

Just yesterday, Apple was compelled to temporarily disable its FaceTime service after a critical bug was discovered that enabled a malicious individual to ‘spy’ on someone else via the recipient’s microphone and camera. Apple later mentioned that they would implement a fix via a software update later this week.

The circumstances present obvious implications for the jailbreak community, as installing a software update would reduce your jailbreakability to practically zilch. That said, if you’re waiting for an iOS 12 jailbreak to drop and don’t have the means to install Apple’s upcoming firmware update, then you’re undoubtedly questioning what the best course of action is.

Watch out for malicious Shortcuts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 18, 2024

You should be extra careful about the shortcuts you download because some of these iOS automation scripts were created by ill-minded people for malicious purposes.

Apple disables group FaceTime after critical privacy bug surfaces

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 18, 2019

Apple has disabled its newly-launched Group FaceTime feature, as it works to patch a serious privacy bug that surfaced late Monday afternoon. The bug, first reported by 9to5Mac, allows FaceTime users to access the microphone and front-facing camera of the person they are calling—even if that person doesn't answer.

Spotify to bring a block feature for muting artists you don’t want to hear from

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 21, 2019

Spotify is testing a block feature in its iPhone and iPad app to mute individual artists listeners don't want to hear from, and could release it more broadly soon, according to Thurrott which first spotted the feature.

DuckDuckGo’s address and map searches are now powered by Apple Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Private search engine DuckDuckGo announced Tuesday that it's now switched to privacy-focused Apple Maps services to “set a new standard of trust online” for address and map searches on desktop and mobile. DuckDuckGo is one of the search engines natively supported as an option in Safari for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

T-Mobile’s new Caller Verified feature offers more protection from scammers and spammers

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 10, 2019

Carrier T-Mobile on Thursday announced a new feature, Caller Verified, which promises to offer additional, better protections from scammers and spammers than its existing tools.

Apple hires prominent Facebook critic Sandy Parakilas to bolster its privacy team

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 9, 2019

Apple has recruited the talents of one Sandy Parakilas, a former Facebook employee who has become a vocal privacy advocate and one of the social network’s most prominent critics. He has been hired to work in Apple's privacy team as a product manager.

Your location data may have landed in the hands of bounty hunters and the black market

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 8, 2019

A disturbing report published Tuesday on Motherboard revealed that the location data US carriers collected from users and sold to legitimate companies might easily land in the hands of bounty hunters and the black market where it could be used for nefarious purposes.

Los Angeles sues the Weather Channel app over alleged misuse of location data

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

The Weather Company, owned by IBM, is getting sued by the city of Los Angeles over alleged misuse of location data that its popular Weather Channel mobile app was collecting from customers, saying the questionable practice violates California's Unfair Competition Law.

Saurik warns against using Cydia Impactor alternative ‘AppSigner,’ says it’s unsafe

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 3, 2019

If you’ve ever used a semi-tethered jailbreak before, then you should be familiar with Cydia Impactor. Saurik (Jay Freeman) created this multi-platform application to let you side-load apps on your iPhone or iPad, especially of the jailbreak flavor, such as Electra and unc0ver.

Recently, a web-based alternative to Cydia Impactor called AppSigner received some public attention on /r/jailbreak, and as you might come to expect, prominent members of the jailbreak community are speaking up to explain why you should not use it.

USB-C Authentication certification stops security attacks through malicious chargers

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 2, 2019

Several security experts have warned that a bad actor with a malicious version of the standard power adapter or charge cable could easily damage your computer or another USB-C device, even deliver malware to it in just a few seconds. A new USB-C Authentication certification introduced today by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) seeks to put an end to that.

HiddenAlbumLock requires authentication to view the ‘Hidden’ album in your Photos app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ January 1, 2019

You can hide images from the Camera Roll in iOS’ native Photos app to prevent them from appearing in your image list, but hidden images are quickly discovered by prying eyes when someone holding your iPhone opens the “Hidden” album in the Photos app.

If you wish Apple took better care of your Hidden images, then you might enjoy a new free jailbreak tweak called HiddenAlbumLock by iOS developer smokin1337. Just as the name implies, this tweak locks the Hidden album and requires authentication to unlock it for viewing.