iPhone 4 problems: FaceTime privacy and "sexviding" are new issues

The Apple iPhone 4

The Apple iPhone 4 product rollout is today, and while the innovative latest version of Apple's flagship product is causing buzz for its new features, it's getting even more for its problems. 

While a weirdly placed casing antenna and a coating on the screen have caused reception and screen image issues, privacy problems not widely reported could give iPhone 4 buyers the most concern.

Apple's new FaceTime feature on the iPhone 4 allows you to make a video call to someone else who can see your image and vice versa. It's a real advance in communications, but with it comes a huge privacy problem.

First, teens can use it to send what this space is the first to name as a "sexvid" and lead to practices of "sexviding", where a person sends a sexual FaceTime video call to someone else. Second, the FaceTime communications are not secure, so anyone can pick up your FaceTime call, video and all, without your knowing it.

Admiral Acbar's warning (photo by QuickPwn)

Let's think about this: a teen making a "sexviding' call on the iPhone 4 could have that picked up by someone else who's on the WiFi signal they're using.

Hans at the blog QuickPwn.com points to this problem (and the one who made the Admiral Ackbar photo). Hans reports that an Apple Employee actually shared this information originally with Nakodari, from AddictiveTips.

Nakodari reports an Apple Employee called "Alpha" who claims that Apple is using FaceTime to steal user information, and wrote:

I will let you off with one last bit of information if your gonna write a story on this and that is Facetime, the iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 Wifi video connecting. The issue is with Wifi is that anyone can get on a Wifi Signal and potentially see what the viewers and broadcasters are looking at without them know, now Apple will deny this and say its not our problem you where not on a secure connection, in my mind I think that its all bullshit.

People should be able to have some type of security during those calls. Worst yet is once a person connects to another person on FaceTime it for some reason non of us in the office can figure out, sends us APPLE a message and says those two people are connecting via Facetime and gives out their location to us. So for whatever reason we need that information just blows my mind. As a consumer why would you need to let Apple know that you are connecting with a person via FaceTime, its non of Apple’s business.

So if a teen sends a sexvid, Apple can know the location of the teenager who did it. But Apple can also know the location of anyone using FaceTime at any time.

Apple's privacy problem doesn't stop there. The iPhone 4 maker can also know if their users have jailbroken their iPhone to escape AT&T. The iPhone 4 system sends what are called "Over The Air" (OTA) updates to Apple every 7 to 14 days. Alpha writes:

As far as Base Bands go it does not matter what baseband you TRY to get on the iPhone cause in the iOS4 there is a line of code we wrote that stands for OAU also known as “Over Air Updates”. How it works is every 7 to 14 days We (Apple) and AT&T send a message to your iPhone that gathers some data from your iPhone without you knowing and we see what is running, baseband and firmware. We then send a following message. “There are optional updates for your iPhone, Would you like to install them now?” two options “Yes” or “Later”. Those are what would would call “OPTIONAL UPDATES” Now there are things called “MANDATORY UPDATES”. They tend to work the same way, grab data from the iPhones sends it to AT&T and us then back to your iPhone with the message, “Your iPhone (name of iphone) must be updated to the current AT&T standards to run”, your only option is to “Accept” Now you can try to work your way around it until you get the second mandatory message again “You must plug iPhone into iTunes and update” If you don’t do this you will then receive no Signal from the network anymore and your iPhone will potentially lock up with no signs of use until you update your iPhone via iTunes. You all agreed to this terms and condition when you installed iTunes 9.2 and then again once you updated to iOS4.

With that being Said go ahead Try to unlock the iPhone it will only last 14 days max then you will have to break that update for that one week then again and again we currently have 6 months worth of updates for this iOS4. Apple and AT&T now have complete control over their iPhones and what their customers are putting on them without them knowing anything about it. Many of the people I work with don’t agree with this but even in our computers when people call in to Apple Care Support we can see if your iPhone is running a jailbreak and what baseband is currently on the iPhone. We have been instructed to not support any one with these things and possible void your warranty of the iPhone for Breaking a contract Rule.

Why is Alpha leaking this information to the blogsphere? Again, he writes:

The reason why I am leaking some of this info is cause I don’t think its right that we are essentially controlling peoples iPhones.

Its their property once it leaves our retail stores and people need to know what they are getting into.

First, give major credit to Nakodari at Addictive Tips for breaking this story. Second, Apple should just unlock the iPhone rather than forcing people to use AT&T.

Many iPhone users don't like AT&T, so many that they're hungry for a Verizon version of the iPhone. Why Apple is doing this is for explanation, but this time it's apparent they've gone too far. Between the FaceTime privacy problems and the OTA iPhone use updates, Apple has become Big Brother.