Facebook has been accused of trying to raid iPhone users’ personal data by accessing their Bluetooth even when they are not using the app.
Apple customers who have downloaded the new iOS 13 software update have reportedly been met with a request from the Silicon Valley-based social media titan to remotely tap into their device’s wireless technology.
This can be used to hoover up swathes of supposedly private information, including a user’s exact location.
Facebook, which boasts an eye-watering 2.4billion active monthly users, has insisted that it does not use Bluetooth to monitor distance between users.
It also that people can block the company from tracking them by denying access in the iPhone’s location settings.
If this is enabled however, it can still collect location data even if the app is not open.
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Apple customers who have downloaded the new iOS13 software update have reportedly been met with a request from the social media titan to remotely enable the device’s wireless technology
Facebook has been accused of trying to raid iPhone users’ personal data by accessing their Bluetooth even when they are not using the app
Apple’s latest software was trialled on a select few before being rolled out to the public tomorrow.
Those who downloaded this beta version have reported being asked: ‘Facebook would like to use Bluetooth.
‘This will allow Facebook to find and connect to Bluetooth accessories.
‘This app may also use Bluetooth to know when you’re nearby.’
A Facebook source said that this prompt was worded by Apple and that it was working on updating this language to better reflect how it uses someone’s location.
Facebook told MailOnline that the platform will be able to ‘detect nearby Bluetooth beacons to improve the app’s understanding of your location’ if they have location services enabled for the app.
If however, this is turned off in the phone’s settings, it does not use WiFi or Bluetooth to determine a person’s location.
The firm also stated that it comprehensively does not use the wireless tech to determine a users location.
But concerned iPhone owners have taken to Twitter ahead of the iOS13 launch to slam the alleged invasion of privacy.
Sam Nato, who shared a screenshot of the message, tweeted: ‘Facebook and most apps wants to use Bluetooth so that they can locate you even if you aren’t using their app. And they can do it without asking for your consent. Pass.’
In what was seen as a pre-preemptive move, Facebook last week attempted to squash the likely backlash by publishing a blog post hailing the benefits of allowing the platform to access one’s location.
Paul McDonald, engineering director, wrote: ‘Facebook is better with location. It powers features like check-ins and makes planning events easier.
‘It helps improve ads and keep you and the Facebook community safe.
‘Features like Find Wi-Fi and Nearby Friends use precise location even when you’re not using the app to make sure that alerts and tools are accurate and personalised for you.’
Facebook, founded by now billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, has insisted it does not use Bluetooth to monitor distance between users and said that people can block the company from tracking them through the iPhone’s location settings
But industry website TechCrunch has reported that the powers gained from accessing users’ location is much more wide-ranging.
For example, geographical movements and interactions could be imported into an algorithm to match singletons in Facebook’s incoming dating app.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has previously spoken out about the erosion of privacy via technology.
Last year, he said: ‘Our own information, from the everyday to the deeply personal, is being weaponised against us with military efficiency.
‘These scraps of data, each one harmless enough on its own, are carefully assembled, synthesised, traded and sold.
‘Taken to the extreme this process creates an enduring digital profile and lets companies know you better than you may know yourself.’
For this reason, iOS13 will reportedly be fitted with tools equipping owners with the ability to limit third-party intrusion of their data.
