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I recently sent in an MBP for repair and wondered the whole time it was gone if someone was viewing my private information.

One time in the past I allowed a third party Apple authorized repairer to keep my MBP overnight to repair. They asked me for my sign in password although I had removed the password and disabled Find My.

That's exactly the reason that whenever I need to send in a Mac for repair I create an extra admin account for the repair shop. They could change the password of my own admin or my work user but they could not change it back. So, it would not go undetected, if they logged in in one of the other users.
 
They always told me to remove the Passcode when I gave them my iPhone for repairs. I always made a back up and wiped the device for that reason
Apple recommends users to backup and erase the phone before submitting it for repair.
 
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Why do people post photos and video like that?

The ignorance of how little device/internet privacy there is stunning. Ask any corporate IT engineer how easy it is for a network engineer to access a client's vidcam or microphone on their computers. Any computer/storage device you have is just two steps away from public exhibition.
 
That's exactly the reason that whenever I need to send in a Mac for repair I create an extra admin account for the repair shop. They could change the password of my own admin or my work user but they could not change it back. So, it would not go undetected, if they logged in in one of the other users.
If I'm not mistaken, for Macs, Apple has a way to diagnose and test the hardware without even touching the internal drive. I've seen it on some Apple stores (sometime ago though) that they just connect a cable and boot up their own diagnostic system. Can't comment on the newer Macs though.

Basically, the technicians need to test the functions of whatever being repaired. For an iPhone, that means they need to boot up the phone and access the functions within it. For Macs, since Macs can externally boot another drive, they technically don't need to know anything in the internal drive.
 
Apparently her device would not turn on. She was unable to backup and erase.
Good to know, and that would be a special circumstances. I was just saying things in general. I don't put any blame on the victim here as whatever the situation is, there's no excuse for the scums to do what they did.
 
I'm not sure about iOS, but Apple technicians don't typically need to access your admin account as they can access the system (not your data) without needing any credentials.
 
I've been asked for login information before but have always refused to divulge it (my machines all have FileVault enabled so raw access to the data is not possible) - it's never been an issue. I was at an Apple Store over the weekend arranging a repair and the Genius I spoke to mentioned that (in the UK at least) Apple have changed their data protection policies to no longer request a password.
I had the same (keyboard repair in the UK). After following their instructions to disable FileVault and open up the device, I changed my mind and re-locked it all down just before sending it off for repair.

I figured if they really needed it unlocked they'd contact me. Repair made and returned very quickly, which made me wonder why they insisted on it in the first place.
 
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I hope the technicians that posted the photos were dealt with accordingly. It was a terrible lapse in judgment on their part to do such a thing.

According to the Telegraph article:

"The incident triggered an “exhaustive” investigation by Apple, according to the filings, with the two individuals responsible for posting the images fired."
 
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Whenever you submit an iPhone for repair, Apple always recommend you to backup and reset it to factory first. When the iPhone is in factory reset condition, the technicians have zero reason to ask for your PIN or password (and they shouldn't). iPhones are encrypted, so whenever you reset to factory, there's no way for someone to dig into the storage for your data.

In my experience, they always ask and double-check that you have made a backup. They don't, in my experience, ask for, or even mention, a factory reset.

Perhaps it depends on what type of repair, though. I've only ever had screens and batteries replaced.
 
Them technicians are going to have a big fine to pay Apple as they now be getting prosecuted by Apple for damages.

I used to repair customers computers and when ever requested to back data like photos I run an bash .sh file that took care of everything so I didn’t have to see anything just know was it successful at backing up the data, at no point should any tech need to look or view any of the backup data.
I think Apple used to have the opposite of it called "Missing Kitty", back when they still named OS X after "cats". The script wipes out all settings and user data on the Mac.
 
I think it must have been over on AppleTalk/MacTalk years ago... a thread on the subject of whether technicians go through your porn when you hand over your Mac... and the answer being a resounding YES they do, and they copy anything they find interesting. (This being long before Apple Stores existed)
 
I really hope the people responsible for posting those photos went to jail. And $5 Million wasn't enough money. She should have sued for $100 Million for having to go through that horrific experience.
 
But I'm sure most people don't want that hassle nor have a backup, and would not think twice about giving other people their PIN code, especially if it's to an "authorised Apple repair."

There are enough people who want a backup, but doesn't want anything to do with Cloud. They dont have a PC or Mac either. Nor do anyone want to mess with iTunes just for iPhone backup. Time Capsule for IOS would have fix this. Instead Apple sided with Services Revenue instead.

This problem has been neglected for nearly 10 years.
 
Wow! Good for her!

I wonder, how did they actually unlock the phone? Maybe it didn’t have a passcode enabled? (To be clear, even if it didn’t, that doesn’t excuse going through her photos, much less sharing them!)
Well the first issue is why she has photos like that on a phone as phones can be hacked and so can online storage sites as well. I say if you don’t want it showing up online then don’t have it on the phone or online storage sites.
 
I would imagine the technician in question regularly goes through customers photos/videos looking for stuff, which is wrong. Should a technician look? Well, no, not at all. However, the flip side is that a few dodgy characters have been found because of technicians snooping around (Gary Glitter for example).
 
I really hope the people responsible for posting those photos went to jail. And $5 Million wasn't enough money. She should have sued for $100 Million for having to go through that horrific experience.

According to the article, they were fired. It does seem like they got off lightly, but would what they did be considered a criminal offence under California law? Violation of copyright? Misrepresentation / fraud? Hacking laws?
 
Them technicians are going to have a big fine to pay Apple as they now be getting prosecuted by Apple for damages.

The technicians were employed by Pegatron, who already reimbursed Apple for the damages. The legal dispute arose between Pegatron and their insurers, which is why this case came to light.
 
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