Just because Apple could shut down your iPhone if it’s “jailbroken” doesn’t mean Apple is trying to seize control of your digital life. In fact, if you want to keep control of it, you might actually want Apple to step in.
In an application filed in February, and made public this month, Apple is asking for a patent on that would watch out for “jailbreaking” — hacking an iPhone so unauthorized software can be installed on it — as one of several ways to secure its iPhones.
That aspect of Apple’s patent application is what’s getting headlines. And that’s too bad, because it’s clear what Apple is really doing is scrambling to reassure those running corporate wireless programs — or just paying bills for the household wireless devices — that they’re going to be able to secure all those iPhones, iPads, and other gizmos if they get lost or stolen.
In the filing, United States Patent Application 20100207721, Apple is asking for a patent on several methods for identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device. Some of them are pretty clever. For example, comparing a photograph of a phone’s user with an electronic image of its user. Or comparing the user’s heartbeat or voice patterns to the phone’s owner. Apple will also look for “suspicious behavior,” such as “entering an incorrect password,” jailbreaking the device, or removing the phone’s SIM card.
So does that sound Orwellian to you?
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