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Software v2.0, Remote Wipe & GPS - The Possibilities.

razorianfly

razorianfly

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 16, 2007
1,357
0
Cheshire, United Kingdom
As of now, Apple don't have a policy for helping a user find an iPod or iPhone in the event of it becoming lost or stolen, if you contact them currently, they just state 'It's not our problem, talk to the police' - and at the most they would pass your device's serial number to the police for handling.

Firstly, with the addition of Remote Wipe, does anyone think software v2.0 will give Apple the ability to remotely wipe a lost or stolen device, through Microsoft exchange or MobileMe, if you so request?

This would be possible right? - Ok, it's not going to find and bring back the device to the user, but it certainly would put the user's mind to rest knowing their information on the iPod or iPhone is no longer accessible (for say, a business user).

Secondly, I think GPS could play a huge part of this as well. Surely if Apple have the ability to integrate GPS into the new iPhone 3G,
to second-by-second track your current location, surely they could use this technology to find a device in the case of it being lost or stolen?.

Hell, I could even see them offering a service like this with AppleCare cover - a location service to be used in the event of a lost or stolen device, at an annual fee, they'd be quids in, and the user would be happy to have this insurance, if you like. - Not to mention the desirability to steal these types of devices from Apple users will plummet.

I don't know .. it just hit me that remote wipe in v2.0 plus the added addition of iPhone 3G's GPS module now give Apple the tools needed and remote ability to essentially disable,
track and eventually find a stolen device.

Am I wrong?

/thoughts?

R-Fly
 
I really want to know if wont the phone is wiped, if it can be restored etc etc.

I think what your saying about the location of the iPhone with GPS could work, but i dont no how. They would have to have a ID for each phone and its GPS so when typed in to their system it would show. Dont no enough about this to give my input to be honest!
 
Most current generation phones have GPS chips in them, but I've never really heard of GPS being used like this (for phones, at least). I'd be wary of this, honestly, it seems like an invasion of privacy and adds a potential for abuse (or inconvenience for some customers...)

Example:
Person A calls Apple and says "My phone was stolen." Apple asks the person for their phone's ID. Apple employee transposes person A's phone ID, and it just so happens to be the ID belonging to person B, who has now lost their data and coverage until someone can explain to them what happened...

This already happens with SIM cards and ESNs on some of America's providers. Once a phone is listed as lost or stolen, its hard to reverse that back.
 
You'll never see this happen. Apple doesn't want to be involved in this... increased liability for them, more overhead, etc. Perhaps a 3rd party solution will come about. Absolute Software's Computrace program http://www.absolute.com/ is currently available for Windows Mobile devices, there's a chance that they could port it over to the iPhone. I imagine doing this would require them needing special access to the iPhone, more so than what the SDK allows.
 
Aloha everyone,

You can bet your bottom dollar that if Apple got into this type of GPS integration, they would most certainly use at least two-factor authentication. I would suppose you would have to provide not only your cell phone number, but your iTunes account name and password, at the very least. I agree that it is probably not worth Apple's time and the resulting legal headaches. That most certainly does not mean, as has also been pointed out, that some 3rd party developer could not work on it. How much access they have to the actual GPS inner workings is another question, however.

HawaiiMacAddict
 
Yes, I'm sure Apple is interested in taking the role of law enforcement.
Not going to happen. They're not going to risk this sort of vigilante justice.
 
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