Apple secretly stores call history, claims security firm

iPhone users are provided with the option of syncing their information such as contact, calendars, system backups and photos among other data with iCloud for a more secured and smooth experience. However, a recent study published by Russian security firm Elcomsoft claims that Apple apparently stores information on every call made by the user on iCloud too.

‘Your calls will sync with iCloud whether you want it or not,’ read a post on the firm’s website.

The report goes on to say that the company doesn’t offer any option to users to disable this activity. Users who have iCloud enabled on their devices get their call history automatically synced to the cloud.

According to the security firm, the information collected by Apple essentially includes call history, phone numbers, dates, call duration, missed calls, FaceTime calls and information collected from other applications that initiate calls via Internet including WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook. The company found that Apple stores such related information for a total of 4 months.

At the same time, Apple feels there is nothing to wrong with this feature.

‘We offer call history syncing as a convenience to our customers so that they can return calls from any of their devices. Device data is encrypted with a user’s passcode, and access to iCloud data including backups requires the user’s Apple ID and password. Apple recommends all customers select strong passwords and use two-factor authentication,’ the company said.

Elcomsoft feels that the Cloud data is very loosely protected. Apple hasn’t revealed whether they plan on providing a disable option to users.