Apple has decided to permanently disable the Find My feature on all iPhones intended for sale in South Korea. This means that the feature cannot be used either in the country or abroad if the device was manufactured for the South Korean market. Also iPhones manufactured elsewhere that are brought to South Korea will have the Find My feature disabled once entered the country.
This limitation makes it difficult to recover a lost iPhone and makes it difficult to arrange meet-ups with friends, since you can’t share your location.
According to discussions on Apple’s support forums, the company has stated that this limitation is due to local laws. However, the current Find My support page has a slightly different note, stating that “Location Sharing is not supported in South Korea and may be unavailable in other regions due to local laws.”
A South Korean reader of AppleInsider and a petition filed on South Korea’s National Assembly Petition website challenges Apple’s position, pointing out that Samsung has no such restrictions on its Find My equivalent.
Apple responded to the criticism by stating that “Find My is disabled not because it violates the Location Information Act, but because of an internal policy.” This decision would therefore not be linked to a legislative requirement.
South Korean law can be interpreted as requiring all location data to be stored for six months, with the implication that the government must be able to access it. This interpretation could be inconsistent with Apple’s privacy policies.
However, Find My has been observed to work normally in some areas of South Korea, such as Baekryeongdo and Ulleungdo, raising further questions. Additionally, it appears that Apple apps such as Photos and Fitness still log location data using network and Wi-Fi details.
The South Korean government had already fined Apple about $150,000 in June, alleging that the company had tracked location data. This came after Apple asked to export high-precision map data from the country, a request that was denied on security grounds.
South Korean citizens are understandably frustrated and angry, especially since the Apple Store online continues to sell AirTags for use with the Find My network, despite the restrictions.
The Find My restriction in South Korea appears to be creating more problems than it solves, and Apple’s official response doesn’t fully clarify the situation. It’s crucial that Apple clearly communicates the reasons behind these restrictions and works to strike a balance between legal compliance and the needs of its users.
It is true that South Korea is not exactly among the most requested destinations by Italians, but if any of you are organizing a trip to the country now you know that you have to be much more careful not to forget your iPhone at the restaurant or anywhere else.
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Source: www.iphoneitalia.com
