Apple denies China’s claims on security risks

Apple on Saturday refuted accusations from China’s broadcaster that reported that the location-tracking features of the company posed a security risk to users.

On July 11th, Ma Ding of China Central Television (CCTV) reported that iPhone’s “Frequent Locations” posed a security risk by collecting data of users that might be used by the US government. Apple reiterated by saying that it does not work with any government agency to provide backdoor access to user data.

“Apple does not have access to Frequent Locations or the Location cache of any users iPhone at anytime. We encrypt the cache by the users passcode and it is protected by access by any app,” said Apple in its website.

China’s report had also claimed that Apple is using the feature to understand the activity of users by knowing how often they visit a place. Apple mentioned that the feature is required for users to assist in driving and helps to avoid traffic. The Location feature can also be turned off and the passcode protection also offers protection from being accessed by any third-party app.

Earlier, People Daily Newspaper in China posted on its blog that said Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Facebook were involved in a secret US program for collecting data in China. Apple asserted that it was important for the company to educate consumers about the way the company uses the private data and protecting the privacy of consumers and also appreciated CCTV move to report on the Frequent Locations feature.

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