Is Apple Tracking iPhone Users Through IMEI?

ariefwn writes ""As I sit here applying a new layer of Reynolds tin foil to my international hat of conspiracy, its been proven that Apple tracks iPhone usage and tracks IMEI numbers of all their iPhones worldwide. Hidden in the code of the 'Stocks' and 'Weather' widgets is a string that sends the IMEI of your phone to a specialized URL that Apple collects. I wonder if there will be any implications to owners of hacked iPhones..."

Yes, and the problem is?

[LiquidCoooled (634315)]

You signed an agreement when you bought the device.

When you interact with Apple, we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; your credit card information and information about the Apple products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue.

However people will expect this to be at manual support time and not all the time.

Re:Yes, and the problem is?

[wattrlz (1162603)]

And if someone got it off eBay?

In that case they can probably afford to sue.

Just a few more minutes...

[mattgreen (701203)]

I'm waiting for someone to respond with an eight page analysis of why this isn't really a big deal, complete with immaculate formatting and excellent grammar. Then everyone simply looks at the length of the post and says, "aha! see, it ISN'T a problem! Not that I read it all, but I'm with *this* guy!"

Don't let me down.

Re:

[Sparr0 (451780)]

Well, not 8 pages but...

Has anyone verified that the IMEI is actually inserted into that field in the URL when the widget runs? The author says he tried to not send the IMEI, but maybe it just sends a placeholder value, or nothing at all, by default? I want to see traffic logs of the actual request including the IMEI before I get angry and [continue to] not buy an iPhone.

Re:

[ThirdPrize (938147)]

It is probably just to make sure that only iPhones use that service. Or registered iPhones at least.

Re:Just a few more minutes...

[ironwill96 (736883)]

Ok here goes.

This

isn't

really

that

big

of

a

deal.

I'm feeling better already, what about you?

Re:Just a few more minutes...

[Valiss (463641)]

I didn't read the whole thing, but I'm with that guy.

Re:Just a few more minutes...

[mattgreen (701203)]

You, sir, win, by not only failing to bite at my semi-troll, but actually having a laugh yourself.

Well-played.

Re:Just a few more minutes...

[by Anonymous Coward]

The problem is the IMEI allows for SIM cloning, which is why you should *never* give it out.. it's unique to your SIM and used for billing etc.

So iphone broadcasts it unencrypted via wi-fi.. and you're not bothered?

The IMEI is unique to your phone, not your SIM, and isn't used for billing.

Well...

[abaddononion (1004472)]

At least it's Apple tracking you, not AT&T?

Wait...

iPod Touch

[jolyonr (560227)]

Of course, if I happened to be running the Stocks and Weather applications on my iPod Touch it wouldn't have an IMEI number to send, would it? Not that I am running those applications on my ipod, because that of course isn't allowed.

Jolyon

Re:

[rvw (755107)]

Of course, if I happened to be running the Stocks and Weather applications on my iPod Touch it wouldn't have an IMEI number to send, would it? Not that I am running those applications on my ipod, because that of course isn't allowed.

Well it could send the serial number instead of the IMEI.

Re:

[sumdumass (711423)]

I don't know if it is an IMEI but when you sort things like stocks you want to watch or personalized weather as well as weather local to your direct vicinity, it has to send something to identify who your are and likely the your location. So I guess the question is, does this information need to identify the person, is there any way around that and does apple in fact store it? If so for how long and why?

I'm not even sure this is a bad thing. It all depends on the stuff we don't know yet. To some, anything i

apple the broker?

[erikkemperman (252014)]

While I'm not an economist or stockbroker, it seems to me that if apple knows which shares iphoners are most interested in, at a given time, this is extremely valuable information, e.g. to spot trends. Can't be bothered to read the user-agreement (have no iphone) but curious to know whether it gives apple the right to sell this data on to large brokers or even act upon the intel themselves?

Re:

[bleh-of-the-huns (17740)]

I am pretty sure that would be illegal, and probably falls under laws that prohibit pump and dump stock scams....

more benign?

[datapharmer (1099455)]

Ever think maybe there was a more benign reason for this? Like to perhaps help in the retrieval of a stolen phone? Granted, it is probably not great for privacy, but if explicitly disclosed a savvy phone stealer could just disable or modify the apps. *This by no means excuses apple's privacy violations.

Re:

[jdc180 (125863)]

IIRC the carriers in the US could care less about retrieving a stolen phone. They could use GSM to lockout stolen phones, but don't. I'm sure apple doesn't either.

Get your facts straight...

[LWATCDR (28044)]

"As I sit here applying a new layer of Reynolds tin foil to my international hat of conspiracy,"
Reynolds doesn't make tin foil. They make aluminum foil! There is a big difference between Tin and Aluminum!

Tracking?

[nickovs (115935)]

There's a substantial difference between receiving information and tracking people. Do the land-line phone companies "track" the calls you make? Sure, they use it to send you a bill, but most people don't seem to think it's a privacy violation. The author does not, as he claims, have "proof" that Apple track iPhone users, simply that they have the wherewithal to collate information about the services used by people if they could be bothered.

The IMEI number is there to facilitate identifying mobile devices to the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for the purpose of charging for services. Your IMEI goes out every time you connect to the EDGE network or any GPRS service anywhere in the world, and is (and always has been) logged by the phone company, irrespective of what brand of phone you have. It's always been possible for the phone company, or anyone with the right data sharing relationship with the phone company (e.g. Apple), or the police with a court order, or the CIA/FBI/KBG/MI6, to link this to the IP address assigned to the mobile device, and from there to server logs. People who worry about this shouldn't just be wearing tin-foil hats, they should be putting tin foil around their phones too.

Re:Tracking?

[kybred (795293)]

The IMEI number is there to facilitate identifying mobile devices to the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for the purpose of charging for services.

No, that would be the IMSI [wikipedia.org]. The IMEI [wikipedia.org] just identifies what equipment you are using.

simple solution

[eck011219 (851729)]

Just use your phone in a Faraday cage, and they can't track you at all.

Just change it...

[javab0y (708376)]

The Apple IMEI is TEA encrytped according to the phone's hardware ID and NOR ID. Both of these numbers can be found with a few tools found at iphone-elite.org. The IMEI lives at 0xA003FAB00 address. All you need to do is write out your seczone (0xA003FA000), TEA encrypt a nice Motorola RAZR IMEI number at offset 0xB00, and write it back to your NOR...and voila...your iPhone now looks like a Motorola RAZR.

Re:Just change it...

[dave420 (699308)]

... and go to jail! It's illegal to change your IMEI in the UK, fyi, so this isn't the best advice for anyone in the UK.

Re:Tracking what?

[tgd (2822)]

Nothing, its a device serial number... not associated with your SIM and therefore not with your account. It proves its an iPhone to the webservice. Not much more.

Bet I get modded down for saying it though :)

Re:Tracking what?

[DaggertipX (547165)]

This just in - every time you make a call, AT&T knows what iPhone that call came from. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Oh wait... that's normal. Tinfoil hats are jumping at peoples heads these days like headcrabs in Half Life.