Oliver Haslam·

iOS 14.4 Is Going To Warn People If They’re Using A Non-Apple iPhone Camera

When Apple ships iOS 14.4 to the public it will begin notifying users if the camera module in their iPhone is not a genuine Apple part, according to a new report.

According to MacRumors, code found in the current iOS 14.4 beta suggests that Apple will begin warning people if the camera is provided by a third party, rather than itself. This is a similar situation to another warning that tells users if their replacement screen isn’t genuine, too.

“Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple camera,” the message will read. As with a similar warning for non-genuine iPhone displays, the message will likely appear in the Settings app under General > About as necessary, and the warning may also appear as a notification on the Lock screen for a short period.

The current thinking isn’t that this will prevent anyone from using their camera, but rather that Apple is simply notifying people in case they weren’t already aware.

It’s also likely to prevent anyone from installing a third-party camera for nefarious reasons, whatever they might be. We don’t know, but it’s possible a camera could be used to collect data without the user’s knowledge and then send it off-device.

Apple’s current iOS 14.4 beta is only its second, so it could be a good few weeks yet before the release is made available to the public.

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