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iOS 17 was released to consumers worldwide last week, bringing significant updates to Apple's operating system for recent iPhone models. However, the Cupertino business is allegedly investigating user accusations that the iOS 17 update reset some privacy settings at the operating system level. According to security researchers, the two stages of iOS 17 that are said to be affected by the update could jeopardise users' privacy because they contain location information.
iOS 17 users have noticed the iOS 17 upgrade
Apple acknowledged to 9to5Mac that it was investigating an issue with the iOS 17 upgrade reported by two cybersecurity researchers known as Mysk on X (previously Twitter). According to Mysk, certain iOS 17 users have noticed that the iOS 17 upgrade unlocks the Significant Locations and iPhone Analytics settings in the Settings app, which were previously disabled on iOS 16.
Mysk highlighted in a post that both Significant Locations and iPhone analytics keep track of a user's location information. The former is stored on a user's smartphone and synchronised between devices using end-to-end encryption, which prevents Apple from accessing the data. On the other hand, iPhone Analytics generates analytics reports that are shared with Apple and may contain location data, even if anonymized.
Previously disabled settings on iOS 16 appear to have been promoted following the update to iOS 17
Aside from some users responding to Mysk's post on X saying that the options were enabled on their iPhones. Previously disabled settings on iOS 16 appear to have been promoted following the update to iOS 17.
Both options can be manually removed by opening the iOS options app and selecting Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services > Turn off Significant Locations and iPhone Analytics.
iOS 17 was released to consumers worldwide last week, bringing significant updates to Apple's operating system for recent iPhone models. However, the Cupertino business is allegedly investigating user accusations that the iOS 17 update reset some privacy settings at the operating system level.