It has emerged that earlier this year Apple applied for a patent to cover new technologies that would allow them to detect Jailbroken and unlocked iPhone handsets.

Jailbreaking refers to the process which allows iPhone users to run third-party unsigned code on their device by unlocking the operating system. This will then allow the user to download extensions, themes and apps which were previously not available.

The patent, named ‘Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device’ will soon be brought into action, to protect Apple from people unlocking and jailbreaking their handsets. Bit odd really, considering the US Government recently stated that this was perfectly legal…

Apple claim their patent will protect their registered users if they are victim to iPhone theft, with the application stating: : “Access to sensitive information such as credit card information, social security numbers, banking information, home addresses, or any other delicate information can be prohibited”. So, they claim if an authorized user is detected to be using the handset, all of this information can be deleted.

Now, that may sound good –  but it all gets a bit worrying really. We may not be 100% certain, but rumour states that if Apple detect a mobile phone as being tampered with, they may use the iPhone’s camera to take a photo of the user, which would be geo-tagged and uploaded onto a server. Another method may be to use a ‘kill switch’, which would remotely disable the device and transfer the mobile’s data to a server.

Bit too much, Apple?

Let us know what you think in the comment box below!

Source: TechRadar

Tags: apple, apple iphone, iphone, iphone 4, jailbreak

This entry was posted on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 10:20 am and is filed under Manufacturer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.