6:00 PM – One of he biggest problems that authorities and cell phone owners have had to face is mobile thefts. More specifically, the iPhone has been on top of the list of thieves and it happens a lot, every day. Several government officials wanted Apple and other companies to come up with an option that would help prevent thefts from occurring. Apple responded with a new feature called “Activation Lock.” This new feature is iOS 7 exclusive and now one District Attorney wants Apple to make the feature available on all iPhones.
In a recent survey done by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, he makes an argument towards Apple that this feature should be available on all iPhones. Essentially, what he means is that this feature should be available across all iOS versions, not just iOS 7. So far, Apple has never gone backwards when it comes to security patches. In order to gain latest security patches and features, Apple requires its customers to upgrade their iPhones to latest software version, if your iPhone supports it.
[quote]”Apple should be commended for leading the way and making efforts to safeguard their customers, but it is still too early to tell how effective their solution will be,” Gascon said. “Until Activation Lock is fully opt-out, it appears many iPhone owners will not have the solution enabled. This leaves iPhone users at risk as thieves cannot distinguish between those devices that have the feature enabled and those that do not.”[/quote]
In Gascón’s survey, it was found that 78 percent of individuals who owned an iPhone have enabled Activation Lock. Around 313 people took part in the survey, mostly from the San Francisco Bay Area. The timeline of the survey was between November 4 and November 19. It was found that 90 percent of individuals owned iPhones and 84 percent of individuals who owned an iPhone have iOS 7 and enabled the Find My iPhone feature.
From this survey, Gascón makes a case to Apple that majority do want this feature on their iPhone. This is why he wants Apple to make Activation Lock the new standard on iPhones. So far, iOS 7 is supported on iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5c, and 5s. In the tablet area, the iPad 2, 3, and 4 are supported, along with the iPad mini. Lastly, the iPod Touch 5 is also supported.
What do you think? Should Apple make Activation Lock the new standard? It for sure will be on future iPhones and iOS updates but what about past iPhones?
