Apple quietly introduced code into iOS 18.1 which reboots the device if it has not been unlocked for a period of time, reverting it to a state which improves the security of iPhones overall and is making it harder for police to break into the devices, according to multiple iPhone security experts.
On Thursday, 404 Media reported that law enforcement officials were freaking out that iPhones which had been stored for examination were mysteriously rebooting themselves. At the time the cause was unclear, with the officials only able to speculate why they were being locked out of the devices. Now a day later, the potential reason why is coming into view.
“Apple indeed added a feature called ‘inactivity reboot’ in iOS 18.1.,” Dr.-Ing. Jiska Classen, a research group leader at the Hasso Plattner Institute, tweeted after 404 Media published on Thursday along with screenshots that they presented as the relevant pieces of code.
Does Apple serve ads? Not that I am aware of. I suppose their podcast player supports podcasts that have dynamic ad breaks but I honestly have no idea whether Apple is the one selling that ad space or the platform hosting the podcast is.
They have services that claim to, but tbf I don’t use apple products and I block ads like I’m spraying for roaches, so I’m just taking apple at their word.
Here’s a screencap from the TLDR of their terms of service I posted a link to, says right here “This service may use your personal information for marketing purposes” so…