Apple’s new feature to curb phone tracking won’t work if you’re actually using your phone

A highly praised privacy function in Apple's latest operating system that is designed to thwart tracking may not be as effective as originally thought, according to a new post from Bhupinder Misra, a principal systems engineer of the Wi-Fi analytics firm AirTight Networks.

The feature, first revealed in June, is designed to prevent unwanted retail tracking that occurs as consumers move around malls and retail shops by randomizing the unique code that smartphones use to identify themselves as they search for nearby Wi-Fi networks. Misra found that the Apple privacy feature only works on select phones, namely the iPhone 5s, when the phone is locked and location capabilities such as GPS are disabled. That means the privacy protections go away if you use a fitness-tracking app or check your text messages briefly while shopping. Older iPhone users are also out of luck. According to Misra, most iPhone users won't benefit from the feature, which is only active when users have disabled all location privacy sharing and their phones aren't in use. That significantly narrows the likelihood that users will use this feature, he said.