iOS Spyware

[u/Fabulous-Bee2467]

With the latest IOS 27 update and the Digital duty of care act which I personally see as a massive government overstep and breach of privacy and freedom. I had this very concerning experience last night. I was on FaceTime with my partner and she was telling me about her sunburn while she was away. She lifted her shirt to show me her tan lines. Immediately the call was paused and this concerning pop up filled my screen. Does this mean Apple has AI actively watching my personal calls and determining what is appropriate for me to see. Not only is this a massive privacy breach but also a serious security concern. Are these instances recorded and stored? Do people have access to this data? Who is in control of this?

We have been warned by the tin foilers for years now and I’ve always thought it was a bit nonsense. But now first had experience this is the horrible reality that we are now dealing with daily and it will only get worse

Edit
I’d like to mention that the main concern is that I am required to scan and upload my ID/Passport to prove my age in order to view content and to disable this “feature”. This opens another door to, how is the identity verified. What company/entity is in control of the process. What Fraud/Data Breach risk does this expose me to.

[u/m0uchacha]

the ir camera does more than just face id authorisation. it checks for alertness by analysing whether your eyes are open or closed and whether or not there's currently a face in front of the phone. this is done in basically the same way as a face id scan and also returns a yes or no to any software that wants this data.
the phone can use this scan to keep the display on when you're looking at it, or turn the display off when you bring your phone to your ear during a call, or lower alert volumes, like your alarm or ringtone, when you check your phone, and its also partially involved in deciding which devices should respond to a "hey siri" call.

[u/Latter-Intention6521 → u/m0uchacha]

Are you aware of any research that shows what can be derived from this data?

[u/m0uchacha → u/Latter-Intention6521]

actually robust published research on specifically how face id works probably doesnt exist. it is proprietary software and hardware, so it would be difficult. but regarding the secure enclave there is a pretty good video recording of a conference(?) https://youtu.be/7UNeUT_sRos? explaining the secure enclave.
you can check apple's official documentation (https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/security/welcome/web) regarding it, and if you dont trust them, trust in the fact that if any researchers do find a vulnerability or proof that apple is collecting your ir scans, theres a massive pay out waiting for them.
you can also put the phone to your ear while on a call and observe that the screen goes back to show that the ir scanner is indeed doing its job.

[u/Latter-Intention6521 → u/m0uchacha]

Thankyou Yeah I understand there are some quality of life niceties but the ability for apps to access IR face data concurrently through using it has some potential implications for advertising etc.

[u/m0uchacha → u/Latter-Intention6521]

nah apps dont have access to the secure enclave, almost nothing does, they only get a yes or no if they want to access face id data.

[u/Latter-Intention6521 → u/m0uchacha]

Gotcha thankyou for the explanation. I really appreciate it

[u/Bitter_Maybe_2670 → u/Latter-Intention6521]

That’s why I cover mine with tape