Apple has reportedly applied for a patent that may be destined to kill the jailbroken iPhones. Although jailbreaking has been made legal in the US but that as we all know is not what Apple wanted. In case you don’t know jailbreaking is method following which you can run unauthorized software on an iPhone.
The company has applied for a patent that covers a variety of security measures to automatically protect iPhone users from thieves and other unauthorized users. But one of the uses of the patent would be to protect Apple’s interests, which may be in conflict with those of users.
The application, which was filed in February and published Thursday, specifically describes the identification of “hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking, or removal of a SIM card” so that measures can be taken to counter the user. Possible responses include surreptitiously activating the iPhone’s camera, geotagging the image and uploading it to a server and transmitting sensitive data to a server and then wiping it from the device.
Here is a brief summary of the patent from Patentvest
This is generally directed to identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device. In some embodiments, an unauthorized user of the electronic device can be detected by identifying particular activities that may indicate suspicious behavior. In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identity of the owner of the electronic device. When an unauthorized user is detected, various safety measures can be taken. 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.
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