iPhone, iOS Devices Send Customer Data To Apple Servers; Is iMessage Safe?

iPhone owners who use their device to send messages through Apple's messaging app may be interested in learning that the company is purportedly storing the user's data on its servers. Additionally, the iPhone maker also keeps the information for 30 days which may extend as the government requests.

As the iPhone user types the phone number on the device's messaging app, Apple's servers start its duty by identifying if the number belongs to an iOS device first. The process is seemingly necessary in order for the server to determine whether to send the message through Apple's own service as an iMessage or through the carrier's service as a text message.

It may be a common knowledge for iPhone users that the messaging app bubbles will appear blue if the message is sent as an iMessage and turns green if it is sent as a standard text. What users may not know is that Apple actually has the capacity to apparently identify the user's location at a certain time and date through its message routing system.

Apart from identifying whether to route a message as an iMessage or a text message, it is also reportedly a part of Apple's servers to record the date and time that the number was typed into the iOS device. Furthermore, it also gets the IP address of the iPhone user which may be used to identify the user's location.

The information on Apple's messaging system was obtained by The Intercept from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Electronic Surveillance Support Team. The document that contains the company's logs is entitled "iMessage FAQ for Law Enforcement," which is only intended for the official use of law enforcers, reportedly.

The iPhone company also confirmed that the customer's data are only being kept on the servers within 30 days, which may extend to an additional 30 days if the government compelled the company to do so for criminal investigations. Recode pointed out that Apple has already made it known since then that they would release data to law enforcements provided that there is a warrant or a court order.

Check on some of the features of Apple's messaging app below.