Apple seeking "Spyware Patent"

Anyone here that has an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad needs to listen up. Our friends at Apple have been hard at work trying to get a patent that allows them to spy on its fellow users. Here is a generalization of what they want to do:

* The system can take a picture of the user's face, "without a flash, any noise, or any indication that a picture is being taken to prevent the current user from knowing he is being photographed";
* The system can record the user's voice, whether or not a phone call is even being made;
* The system can determine the user's unique individual heartbeat "signature";
* To determine if the device has been hacked, the device can watch for "a sudden increase in memory usage of the electronic device";
* The user's "Internet activity can be monitored or any communication packets that are served to the electronic device can be recorded"; and

Read the full article Here

[edit on 8/24/2010 by ShadowKingpin]

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[edit on 2010/8/24 by GradyPhilpott]

Now that's odd... not that Apple wants to do it as they've managed to "anti"monopolize their hard and soft ware...
But that EFF is questioning it is odd as they've supported Apple's past endeavours, in particular against Microsoft.

Maybe there is a silver lining?


[edit on 8/24/2010 by abecedarian]

I certainly hope that's not true.

Question:
Why would apple do this?

See that bothers me as well. I don't know if it's like Facebook's agreement with the U.S. Government when it comes to exchange of information or not, but it sounds like a deal between Apple and the Feds for exchange of information of U.S. Citizens. What could Apple possibly do with all of that information?

Apple always seems to be the target of bad press by large investment managers looking to pull their quarterly numbers up through vehicles such as put options or hedge moves. This is why I'm always taking negative news about Apple with a grain of salt. Apple is a prime candidate for these kinds of rumors/tactics.

With that being said, this doesn't seem to be the case. The EFF, is an extremely reputable organization and I trust their reports a little more than other sources. So, while this kind of news usually doesn't bother me, this particular news does.

How frightening is this? What's even more scary, is whoever is lobbying Apple to do this. It would be foolish to assume that this is Apple's own initiative and if someone else is behind this, they are also going to get other companies to do the same kinds of things.

Welcome to the surveillance state, leave your rights at the door.

--airspoon

reply to post by ShadowKingpin


Reading your thread reminded me of when i read 1984. The Eye is Watching You. The camera lens literally. wow. And your heartbeat!? Fact is far more disturbing than fiction in this case.

It does seem odd that apple would do this your right. But in my view it would not be apple who intend to use this technology.. why would they? marketing? ... perhaps with some stretch of the imagination.. i suspect they were either compliant with the requests of some sort of government agency, who asked apple to do this for them nicely. or, they were less civil with their requests and used other forms of persuasion almost certainly practised and perfected by these secret organisations. Maybe they blackmailed, or merely bribed Apple, who knows. but no matter how this came to be, i feel it would be of very little use to apple(or their customers) for their technology to function in these intrusive ways.

So for me this narrows down who exactly may use these features in the iphone to a handful of spy organisations who do exactly this kind of thing on a daily basis. Apple were likely coerced into this, and served a gaggind order about the whole affair, with threats of serious repercussions if they did not comply. Intelligence gatherers. There's nothing they cant find out these days, no matter where you run.. the mere presence of an iphone could compromise your location due to your "signature" unique heartbeat. I mean this is just beyond crazy... makes me want to suggest all kinds of messed up things,,, like the kinda crap i come out with when im not sober. I was thinking, TinFoilVests?

Am i just being paranoid?

If so could a less irrational mind please ease my mind and tell me this isnt actually happening. that apple having just taken a huge chunk out of our Privacy (xapplex) pie for as long as these gadgets remain popular..

first google wants to destroy the internet and now apple wants to spy on their own customers?

power corrupts absolutely....

I tried posting this information on my Facebook and yet people laugh about it like it's some kind of joke. As Airspoon said, this idea can be brought to other companies and be used, and possibly in more scarier ways depending on the technology that specific company has access to.

The more I read about smart phones and devices the less likely it is that I will ever purchase one.

It seems less like they are 'smart' as far as what they can do and more like they are 'smart' like a weapon.

Makes me wonder why BlackBerry is being challenged in the Middle East but it's a non-issue in the west.

Already cracked?

reply to post by ShadowKingpin


Here is the part of the actual text of the patent application directly from the US Patent & Trademark Office:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001]This relates to systems and methods for identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device. In particular, this relates to systems and methods for detecting an unauthorized user, gathering information related to the electronic device, the unauthorized user, or both, and transmitting an alert notification to a responsible party for the electronic device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]People often possess and carry around a variety of electronic devices, such as, for example, cellular phones, PDA's, personal e-mail or messaging devices (e.g., a Blackberry.TM.), and handheld media players (e.g., an iPod.TM.). Many of these electronic devices are used frequently by their owners, and the electronic devices may contain personal or sensitive information stored within them. For example, the electronic devices may contain information such as credit card numbers, passwords, social security numbers, bank information, contact lists, or calendar information. Accordingly, if the electronic device is lost or stolen, the loss of the electronic device can be exceedingly disruptive to the owner's peace of mind and security. Thus, the owner may desire to find out where the lost electronic device is located or who may have gained possession of or stolen the electronic device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003]Systems and methods for identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device are provided. In particular, systems and methods for detecting an unauthorized user, gathering information related to the electronic device, the unauthorized user, or both, and transmitting an alert notification to a responsible party for the electronic device are provided.

[0004]In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identities of authorized users of the electronic device. For example, a photograph of the current user can be taken, a recording of the current user's voice can be recorded, the heartbeat of the current user can be recorded, or any combination of the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match. If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user.

Notable parts of the invention include:

12. The electronic device of claim 11, further comprising:a microphone operable to record the voice of the current user; andwherein the processor is further operable to:compare the recorded voice with voice prints of authorized user of the electronic device; anddetermine that the recorded voice does not match the voice print of any authorized user of the electronic device.

13. The electronic device of claim 11, further comprising:a heartbeat sensor operable to detect the heartbeat of the current user; andwherein the processor is further operable to:compare the detected heartbeat with heart signatures of each authorized user of the electronic device; anddetermine that detected the heartbeat does not match the heart signature of any authorized user of the electronic device.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, further comprising:a camera operable to take a photograph of the vicinity of the electronic device; andpositioning circuitry operable to determine current location information of the electronic device; andwherein the processor is further operable to:geotag the photograph by associating the photograph with the current location information.

16. The electronic device of claim 11, further comprising:an accelerometer operable to record a vibration profile of the electronic device; anda signal processor operable to compare the recorded vibration profile with a library of vibration profiles to determine a current mode of transportation of the electronic device.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein:the camera is operable to take a plurality of photographs of the surroundings of the electronic device; andwherein the processor is further operable to:analyze each of the plurality of photographs to identify distinguishing landmarks in the photographs; anddetermine the location of each photograph based on the identified distinguishing landmarks.

Source: appft.uspto.gov... 1&OS=20100207721&RS=20100207721

Apple is clearly marketing this idea as a way to capture thieves, and I have no doubt it may be pretty useful for doing that. But of course it conveniently can double as quite a way to spy on an incredibly large number of people without their permission.

[edit on 24-8-2010 by truthquest]

Originally posted by truthquest
reply to post by ShadowKingpin

 

Here is the part of the actual text of the patent application directly from the US Patent & Trademark Office:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001]This relates to systems and methods for identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device. In particular, this relates to systems and methods for detecting an unauthorized user, gathering information related to the electronic device, the unauthorized user, or both, and transmitting an alert notification to a responsible party for the electronic device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]People often possess and carry around a variety of electronic devices, such as, for example, cellular phones, PDA's, personal e-mail or messaging devices (e.g., a Blackberry.TM.), and handheld media players (e.g., an iPod.TM.). Many of these electronic devices are used frequently by their owners, and the electronic devices may contain personal or sensitive information stored within them. For example, the electronic devices may contain information such as credit card numbers, passwords, social security numbers, bank information, contact lists, or calendar information. Accordingly, if the electronic device is lost or stolen, the loss of the electronic device can be exceedingly disruptive to the owner's peace of mind and security. Thus, the owner may desire to find out where the lost electronic device is located or who may have gained possession of or stolen the electronic device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003]Systems and methods for identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device are provided. In particular, systems and methods for detecting an unauthorized user, gathering information related to the electronic device, the unauthorized user, or both, and transmitting an alert notification to a responsible party for the electronic device are provided.

[0004]In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identities of authorized users of the electronic device. For example, a photograph of the current user can be taken, a recording of the current user's voice can be recorded, the heartbeat of the current user can be recorded, or any combination of the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match. If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user.

Source: appft.uspto.gov... 1&OS=20100207721&RS=20100207721

Apple is clearly marketing this idea as a way to capture thieves, and I have no doubt it may be pretty useful for doing that. But of course it conveniently can double as quite a way to spy on an incredibly large number of people without their permission.

[edit on 24-8-2010 by truthquest]

I see where you are getting at, but when it comes to a major company like Apple, I just don't trust them with that kind of power.

[edit on 8/24/2010 by ShadowKingpin]

Great! Another garbage patent granted to a rich company where you can basically cite StarTrek as prior art of equal depth.

Edit: "cite" not "site"!

[edit on 8/25/2010 by EnlightenUp]

Wonder if this has anything to do with the recent declaration that jailbreaking and such is within the rights of the consumer...?

reply to post by abecedarian


That actually would make sense. Making it legal to jailbreak, and now using that as an excuse to tap into Apple products worldwide.

Just think what your employers can do with type of device and it's software. Sounds like Orwell's nightmare has arrived. It's in living HD color with HD video and Audio along with GPS. I Would imagine that turning off your device and putting it in a lead locker at home might be the only way to have some semblance of privacy. Glad I don't use this type of phone. Just the basics for me!
Zindo

Wait... Isnt it legal in Usa to Jailbreak???

For what reason do they need this?

Maybe you can jailbreak this new patent system and you can give Iphone as a present for your girlfriend. Then you can spy on her 24/7.

"Cheating girlfriend? Spy on her using iPhone!"

www.youtube.com...

[edit on 27-8-2010 by hande]