iPhone blacklist can only prevent core location services?

It seems that there’s an alternative explanation to the discovery of an iPhone feature that allows the handset to phone home (connect to an Apple server) and check for unauthorized applications. The “Blacklist” feature, as it’s been called recently, checks the iPhone’s installed application against a known list (a blacklist, if you will) of malicious or otherwise unauthorized iPhone apps. The feature was previously thought to allow the Apple to remotely disabled unauthorized application on the iPhone, but there may be a more benevolent spin to this story.

DaringFireball‘s John Gruber presents his theory that the blacklist feature only works to block unauthorized applications from accessing the iPhone’s Core Location Service. The Core Location Services framework contained within the iPhone’s OS allows the iPhone to determine its present location through cellular signal triangulation, WiFi hotspot proximity, and GPS (for the iPhone 3G) positioning data. It makes sense that Apple would want to limit access to private information like this.

The Blacklist feature was apparently found buried within the iPhone OS Core Location framework, and Gruber believes that the feature is more likely related to policing Core Location access. Further, the server URL that is referenced gives more credence to the idea that only Core Location services are controlled by the Blacklist feature.

https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps

The “clbl” contained in the above URL stands for “Core Location Blacklist.” The feature is more probably a method for Apple to keep unauthorized applications from accessing the iPhone’s positional-data features, rather than a method to remotely disable iPhone apps.

Of course, just because this particular bit of code is likely related to Core Location Services, doesn’t mean Apple doesn’t have or isn’t working on a solution to disable unauthorized iPhone applications.

[Via: DaringFireball]