Researchers: Apple granted Uber now-removed “entitlement” that let app record iPhone screen, even in background; Uber says it was to improve Watch performance
To improve functionality between Uber's app and the Apple Watch, Apple allowed Uber to use a powerful tool that could record …
Context & Ripple Effects
Uber had already been narrowing its location collection: it ended post-trip tracking for iPhone users and added an opt-out from always-on location access as iOS 11 emphasized when-in-use authorization. The reported entitlement introduces a separate, more privileged route to data collection, one Apple had granted for Uber's Watch integration.
The later record shows Apple telling developers to remove code that recorded users' in-app interactions without explicit consent. Together, the coverage makes platform permissioning—not merely Uber's stated Watch-performance rationale—the central issue.
First-order effects
- Uber's iPhone app had access to screen-recording capability, including in the background, beyond the location permissions it had been publicly revising.
- Apple faces scrutiny over its decision to grant a powerful entitlement to Uber while retaining control over which developers receive such access.
Second-order effects
- Developers pursuing deep Apple integrations face a sharper distinction between ordinary user-facing permissions and exceptional platform entitlements, especially where an entitlement can collect sensitive interaction data.
- Uber's recent move to let riders opt out of always-on location tracking is less likely to settle privacy concerns when a separate privileged capability is under question.
Third-order effects
- The pattern points toward mobile platforms treating privileged APIs as a governance layer: access decisions, disclosure standards, and later enforcement increasingly shape what app-level privacy promises mean in practice.
The trend: Mobile privacy is moving from permission prompts alone toward tighter scrutiny of the exceptional platform access granted to selected apps.