Check Your iPhone: iOS 17 Is Messing With Some People's Privacy Settings

pcmag.com:

Did your privacy settings unexpectedly change with the update to iOS 17? You're not alone, and Apple is reportedly investigating what happened.

As 9to5Mac reports, iOS developers known as Mysk tweeted over the weekend that "if you have disabled significant locations as well as adding your location information to your iPhone analytics before upgrading to iOS 17, iOS 17 will turn the options on."

Significant Locations tracks and remembers the places that you are at most often and sends alerts based on calendar events or map directions. iPhone Analytics helps Apple by occasionally providing the company with information about how a specific iOS device is used.

According to Mysk: "While significant locations remain local on your iPhone, they can be abused as they record detailed information about the locations you visit frequently. iPhone analytics, on the other hand, are shared with Apple. Having your location information included in these analytics reports might have privacy implications, even if the reports don't identify you."

In a rundown of its privacy features, Apple notes that "your Significant Locations and collections are encrypted end‑to‑end so Apple cannot read them. And when you share your ETA with other Maps users, Apple can’t see your location."

Still, Apple tells 9to5Mac that these settings should not change with the upgrade from iOS 16 to iOS 17 and that it's "investigating the issue."

This is not affecting everyone; as 9to5Mac notes, "it appears many, if not the vast majority, of iPhone users remain unaffected." You can check your status via Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Service.

Another privacy setting you may want to check in iOS 17? NameDrop, which is marketed as a convenient