Whenever you give iPhone apps permission to access your camera, the app can surreptitiously take pictures and videos of you as long as the app is in the foreground, a security researcher warned on Wednesday.
Felix Krause, who recently warned of the danger of malicious iPhone password popups, wrote a blog post as a sort of PSA for iPhone users. To be clear, this is not a bug, but likely intended behavior.
This behavior is what enables certain “spy” apps like Stealth Cam and Easy Calc – Camera Eye to exist. But even if this behavior is well-known among iOS developers and hardcore users, it’s worth remembering that all apps that have camera permission can technically take photos in this way.
Krause’s app does not upload photos anywhere, nor it stores them in your Photos app, but there’s nothing stopping an app from taking pictures and uploading them somewhere without you noticing.
