Communications of the ACM
Apple Loophole Gives Developers Access to Photos
Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Application developers for Apple's mobile devices, already under fire for taking users' address book information without their knowledge, now are being accused of using their photos without a warning.
After a user allows an app on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to have access to location information, the app can copy the user’s entire photo library, without any additional notification or warning, according to app developers. Although Apple's rules do not prohibit photo copying, Apple does screen all apps submitted to the app store, which should catch any illicit behavior on the part of developers.
"Conceivably, an app with access to location data could put together a history of where the user has been based on photo location," says Curio cofounder David E. Chen.
In 2010, Apple made a policy change to allow full access to the photo library, which was designed to make photo apps more efficient. “Apple and app makers should be making sure people understand what they are consenting to," the Electronic Privacy Information Center's David Jacobs. "It is pretty obvious that they aren’t doing a good enough job of that.”
From New York Times
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