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Can a malicious carplay device steal iPhone information ?

I'm aware of Are there security concerns for iPhone Ca… - Apple Community, but I cannot reply to the thread.


My question is: If some company with malicious intent build a carplay device. Can this device then steal information from the iPhone ? I understand that in theory the carplay device only displays in transit information from the iPhone, but what prevents the device from saving a copy of this information and forward it through other services ? If the device can query the iPhone for information to display it could slowly ask the iphone for more data without displaying it on the screen and it would be stealth for the user. As some carplay devices also have wifi built in for connectivity a user may later allow the the carplay device to access the internet and forward the stolen information ?


Thanks

iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Jan 12, 2025 3:29 AM

Reply
3 replies

Jan 12, 2025 3:43 AM in response to cb831

Theoretically, yes. Carplay can access lots of phone data - contacts, messages, reminders, calendars, music, podcasts, emails, .....etc. for display on the screen. In theory anything it has access to it can collect, store and do something with it.


None of your passwords are accessible to Carplay so you have to ask yourself what you are really concerned about. In theory the mass of data could be used to create a digital fingerprint, but if you use Google, Meta, Twitter or spend any time browsing the web then you're already fingerprinted to a much greater extent than Carplay would add to.


In the end you have to weigh the risk of using Carplay against whatever risk you perceive is associated with the very unlikely possibility of someone installing malware on your car and what that malware could do with relatively benign data like your contacts list and messages. If you're that concerned then you can restrict which apps can be accessed by Carplay and if that doesn't assuage your concerns then you have the choice not to connect your phone to the car.


Jan 12, 2025 4:23 AM in response to Zurarczurx

Reason for my concern is that we see a lot of very cheap carplay devices at the moment and if things are cheap it might be that they earn their money from something else...


I never actually configured carplay but as I understand you I would be able to turn off access to apps like mail and calender and only allow the device to access my phone and navigator and that will be enfored by the phone ?

Can a malicious carplay device steal iPhone information ?

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