iPhone feature could be national security threat, says Chinese broadcaster CCTV

A feature in Apple's iPhone that tracks a user's location could be a national security threat, state media reported yesterday.

The "frequent locations" function, available in the iOS 7 mobile operating system, could collect data even when the function is turned off, and could result in the leaking of state secrets, China Central Television reported.

The criticism comes amid escalating concerns in the government about the penetration of American technology companies in China and their role in US cyberspying.

Apple's website says the purpose of the function is to discover places that are significant to users. "This data is kept solely on your device and won't be sent to Apple without your consent. It will be used to provide you with personalised services, such as predictive traffic routing," it says.

Ma Ding, head of the online security institute at China People's Public Security University, told CCTV that anyone with access to the data could gain insight into the broader situation in China and "even state secrets".

"It clearly spells out where the user has been and at what time," Ma said. "When we consider the information of more than 100 million handset owners, we may find patterns in it.