Googler proves any iPhone app with camera permission can spy on you

thenextweb.com

8 points·xbmcuser··8 comments

Indeed a feature, not a bug. Apps like as an example barcode scanners need camera access without the iOS-provided camera UI for using their own and being able to detect barcodes. I don't see Apple being able to do much about it besides a) somehow detecting and rejecting such apps in their review or b) forcing some kind of hint when a camera is active, maybe like the colored status bar you get when having a call in the background or connections to the phones hotspot, but these are ugly.

They should put a tiny led that turns on whenever the camera is on, like in their macbooks. Would also be useful for notifications, which is a feature implemented on many android phones.

Why "Googler" in the post title? Post on a private blog, code posted on a private Github account...

The article states

> ”Google engineer Felix Krause has detailed an alarming privacy setting in Apple’s iOS…”

It’s added information. If it were meant to imply that it had something to do with his work at Google, the headline would likely have been “Google proves…”.

It adds nothing to the title.

Mentioning in the article content that Felix works at Google would be enough. He didn't release that information as a Google engineer, but a private person.

This just feels like they want to play the Google vs. Apple angle, don't you think?

Considering later in the piece they write “Interestingly, this marks yet another occasion in which Google discovers technical inconsistencies or vulnerabilities in competitors’ products.”, they definitely are playing that angle.

Maybe he works at Google

So an app with the camera permission can use the camera?

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