Apple raised eyebrows in the tech world late in 2019 with some small privacy problems in the new iPhone 11 line, but it looks like the issue will be fixed in the near future.
The latest beta for iOS 13.3.1 features a new toggle in the system settings to turn off Ultra Wideband features. This is important because, shortly after the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro launched, users found out the phone would periodically track their location even after they turned off location services for every single app on their phones, in compliance with Ultra Wideband regulations.
YouTube creator and journalist Brandon Butch tweeted a screenshot of the new toggle in action:
In case you hadn’t heard, the freshest batch of iPhones comes with a new Ultra Wideband chip inside them. It allows for, among other things, more precise positional tracking for devices that are near each other, which could enhance things like AirDrop and Apple’s rumored tracking devices for lost possessions.
The fact that new iPhones were still displaying the telltale location services arrow near the battery bar even when no apps had permission was thought of as a bug, until security reporter Brian Krebs looked into it in December. According to Apple, it was actually working as intended; the Ultra Wideband chip is subject to different regulations in different places, so the phones were tracking their locations to make sure the chips could be used at all.
Apple also explained that the location tracking was happening entirely on-device, so theoretically that data would be difficult to compromise. But for people who really value their privacy, that might not be enough. We don’t know exactly when Apple plans on adding the Ultra Wideband toggle to iPhone 11s via a software update, but if it’s in beta now, it can’t be too far off.
