person / partner / dad / sre@mozilla
If you’re mailing in your iPhone for a trade-in, I highly recommend taking a quick video of the device, highlighting its condition and serial number before packing it up and handing it to the UPS worker. It saved me this time, and has helped others I know in the past
Some days I think I know almost all there is to know about Apple software/hardware. Other times, especially being new to the CI/CD world professionally, I feel like I know very little.
A week ago a friend sent me an image they had taken at a bar over iMessage. Because he was traveling, I wondered if the location data was attached. To my surprise, it was.
Another friend working in Apple Retail confirmed this was expected behavior. If you wish to not share that data, there is a workaround but you do have to apply it on a case by case basis.
When sharing an image from the Share Sheet, you will see an Options menu that will allow you disable location data from being shared.
This approach seems problematic in many ways. One scenario that could be quite common is the influx of individuals using dating apps. Sharing images via those channels more than likely strips this information (hopefully), but surely its puts those at risk who share photos with people over iMessage that they are just getting to know.
I decided to file my first Apple Security bug and receive confirmation that this is expected behavior. I’d like to see Apple implement a setting to disable sharing this information by default.
iCloud Keychain got a nice update with iOS15 that enables you use it as your MFA provider. Not only does it make the likes of Google Authenticator/Authy unnecessary, it also makes for a much more seamless experience for the end user in Safari. If you have MFA enable for a service (Gmail, Reddit, etc.) you will first need to disable it. Next, locate the entry for that service in iCloud Keychain and select Setup Verification Code.
Setup:
Execution:
Bravo, Apple.
I ran into an interesting issue attempting to purchase AppleCare for a set of headphones I picked up at Best Buy. I was within the sixty day window but when I tried making the purchase online I was presented an ominous message:
“It looks like your device isn’t eligible for an AppleCare agreement.”
The AppleCare rep was stumped. After a bit of googling I discovered the headphones didn’t have a purchase date associated with them—presumably because they came from a third party retailer.
The fix is to visit https://checkcoverage.apple.com, enter your details, and you’ll more than likely be prompted to provide a purchase date. I was then able to complete my purchase.