iPhone 'kill switch' may protect GPS data?
updated 11:10 am EDT, Fri August 8, 2008
iPhone kill switch and GPS
The alleged kill switch for iPhone software is not meant to apply universally, a new source claims. Yesterday, writer Jonathan Zdziarski called attention to the iPhone 2.0 firmware, whose Core Location code contains a URL titled "https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps." Zdziarski and others have thus argued that Apple may have a means of remotely disabling any app it wants to, whether for selfish reasons or legitimate user protection.
According to "an informed source at Apple," however, the term "clbl" in the URL is short for Core Location Blacklist, and is not meant to block any app at a whim. Instead, says the informant, the code is intended to prevent specific apps from gaining access to location information, because these may run into privacy concerns which violate the rules of the iPhone SDK.
