Iphone X has hit the shelves and one of the most talked about features is TrueDepth, facial recognition software that can map it's users face onto an emoji or a video game character.
According to Reuters, which managed to review the terms of a third-party app developer agreement with Apple, the data sourced by the TrueDepth camera will not remain on a customer's phone. Instead, it can be sent to non-Apple servers — something that has privacy and security experts worried.
Apple will allow app developers to use certain facial data as long as they get permission from the customer and do not sell the data to third parties. Use of the facial data must also be for a legitimate feature on the app.
The facial data that third party apps can access monitors how often users blink, smile or even raise an eyebrow
However, speaking to Reuters security expert Dan Tentler said that there is nothing stopping these app developers from selling on this information:
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It wont matter. Advertisers are going to [go after the data] anyway, and it's plausible there will be a black market or underground market for quietly lifting that data off of phones despite [Apple's] rules.
The trouble here is that their [Apple's] defensive mechanism appears to be just a bunch of rules, and it's staggeringly obvious that making something against the rules only stops people who elect to follow the rules.
I guess all of these risks are a small price to pay for living in a world where you can animate a cat emoji to rap Biggie Smalls.
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