A WOMAN claims to have proof that iPhones secretly take photos of their users without permission.
In a recent viral TikTok video, user itsconspiracyseriously suggested that Apple mobiles capture infrared snaps of your face every five seconds.
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She shared a clip of someone filming their phone using an infrared lens, which shows a repeating flash going off from the front-facing camera, The Mirror reports.
Infrared light is invisible, meaning that without the lens, the flashes could not be seen by whoever was holding the handset.
“Apparently your iPhones takes an infrared picture of you every five seconds,” itsconspiracyseriously, who has 173,000 TikTok followers, said.
The influencer, who regularly posts about unproven conspiracies, admitted she had not tested the theory herself and did not know if it was true.
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The video has garnered plenty of attention, racking up 1.5million views since it was posted on May 9.
However, the allegations made by the TikToker are false.
While the video she shared does appear to show an iPhone repeatedly taking photos, experts have explained that’s actually not the case.
The infrared flashes are instead the work of Face ID, Apple’s facial-recognition technology that launched on the iPhone X in 2017.
Your iPhone regularly scans your face using the tool to check if you’re looking at the screen as part of a feature called Attention-Aware.
If you’re determined to be looking at the display, your gadget will dim the screen. If you’re facing your phone, it will lower the volume of alerts.
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Responding to the video, people compared the feature to the way that smart assistants like Amazon’s Alexa always listen for their wake commands.
One person said: “Of course it does if you have Face ID set up. It’s like Alexa or Google Home. Constantly listening for the Hey Google or Hey Alexa. Same concept.”
Another said: “The phone is not taking pictures, it’s only seeing if you are looking at the phone so it won’t lock while you are looking at it. You can deactivate that.”
Others shared that they had previously felt uneasy after noticing the feature on the video feeds of baby monitors.
If you’d rather your iPhone didn’t scan your face, you can switch off Attention Aware in your settings.
Best Phone and Gadget tips and hacks
Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find those secret features within social media apps? We have you covered…
Head to Face ID & Passcode, enter your passcode, the scroll down to attention where you can deactivate awareness features.
TikTok has been criticised for failing to stop the spread of baseless conspiracy theories on its platform.
In December, an MP blasted the Chinese social media app for not doing enough to halt dangerous misinformation about Covid-19 vaccinations.
TikTok has also become a hotbed for supporters of QAnon, a disproven and discredited far-right conspiracy theory.
Its supporters allege that a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic paedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotted against former U.S. president Donald Trump while he was in office.
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What do you make of the conspiracy? Let us know in the comments!
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
