Urgent warning issued to millions of iPhone users as Apple automatically turns on 'dangerous' feature
Apple's latest updated pushed to iPhones has automatically enabled a 'dangerous' feature that you might want to consider turning off, as a warning has been sent out to users.
Recent iOS updates haven't exactly proven to be the most popular with iPhone users, as iOS 18 has been accused of 'ruining' the photos app to the point where some have even attempted to uninstall it and revert to an older version.
It did bring some positive changes, including the return of a highly requested calculator feature, but the latest version enables a feature that you might want to consider disabling if you value your privacy.
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Apple, like many of the biggest tech companies in the world, has been heavily pushing AI software over the past year, and 'Apple Intelligence' is their biggest new thing.
It's been rumored to be a significant part of the upcoming Siri overhaul that has CEO Tim Cook excited, and it boasts features like message summaries, 'intelligent' writing tools, and custom 'Genmoji' from user prompts.
Urgent warnings have been expressed by experts though as a new update automatically enables Apple Intelligence on any eligible device, and it could access your private data and provide dangerous misinformation that you'd otherwise not be privy to.
Apple's official messaging boasts that their AI "draws on your personal context without allowing anyone else to access your personal data - not even Apple," but privacy expert Chip Hallett warns that it still has some cybersecurity risks that you need to be aware of.
He outlines that the AI tech is activated at an operating system level, allowing it to pull information from almost every aspect of your phone and even perform actions within apps outside of your own control.
There's also the major concern surrounding AI 'hallucinations', in which the tech makes up information that is either misinterpreted or simply does not exist, feeding it to a user that is none the wiser.
This became particularly apparent after BBC News complained that Apple's AI misinterpreted push notifications surrounding Luigi Mangione's arrest, as the summary informed users that alleged assassin had shot himself when that was not the case.
In response, Apple has deactivated notification summaries for the 'News & Entertainment' category with the iOS 18.3 update, but it shows the clear cracks that are present within the system, and props up arguments that urge users to turn the tech off altogether.