Edward Snowden Claims Apple’s iPhone Has Built-In App Designed for Spying Features – Report

American fugitive and former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden is keeping a safe distance from the iPhone, convinced that the Apple-built smartphone is laced with spying tools, according to a new report.

Russian media outlet Sputnik said in a report that out of the box, the Apple flagship phone is capable of snooping on users. Snowden, according to his lawyer, is saying that the iPhone is deployed with software that could secretly collect information from owners.

“The iPhone has special software that can activate itself without the owner, having to press a button and gather information about him, that’s why on security grounds he refused to have this phone,” Sputnik reported Anatoly Kucherena as saying.

In order to protect his privacy, Snowden has opted to stick with “a simple phone, Kucherena said, adding that shunning away from the iPhone, regarded as the most popular smartphone, is a personal decision made by his client.

Infamous whistle-blower

Snowden is presently on the run from U.S. authorities following his revelation in 2013 of the intelligence gathering activities conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

In order to escape prosecution as he is facing espionage charge among his other legal troubles, Snowden sought refuge in Russia where he was granted asylum.

Shaky claims

The tech site BGR, however, is doubtful that the latest Snowden revelation packs the typical strong punch.

The documents provided so far by the former NSA contractor have yet to establish a strong case against Apple – that the tech giant has knowingly allowed the inclusion of hidden software with its flagship that will compromise the security of the hundreds of millions of iPhone users, the BGR report said.

Also, it seems strange that iOS, the platform that powers the iPhones and iPads, has been hosting a spyware undetected.

Pointing to the massive popularity of both the iPhone and its operating system, BGR noted that it’s hard to believe that a snooping application will escape the prying eyes of developers.

But the same report is not discounting the likelihood that Snowden plans to actually explode a mighty bomb that will involve Apple and the iPhone, a scenario that BGR said could unfold in the days ahead.