Apple’s Find My iPhone Helps Police Arrest Suspect After Fleeing—But Is it Legal?

Apple's Find My iPhone app helped a police officer chase a suspect who attempted to flee his arrest.

What is The Find My iPhone App?

The Find My app allows users of Apple devices, such as Mac, iPhone, and iPad to track them in times that they may have been stolen or they have forgotten where they have placed them.

It is worth noting that the app works even as the device is not connected to the internet. With the upcoming iOS 15, the Find My feature now works even while the device is turned off completely.

Apple's Find My iPhone Helps Police

This time around, a police officer used the tracking app to chase and arrest a suspect.

To be precise, Deputy Travis Peck from the Colorado police was able to apprehend Steven Sandoval with the help of the Find My app even after the latter tried to escape the arrest, as per Gizmodo.

Sandoval was being arrested by the police at that time as he was suspected of evasion after failing to show up in his scheduled court proceedings. But upon meeting Deputy Peck, the suspect attempted to run away by ramming his truck over a security fence.

Thankfully the police officer immediately realized that he lost his iPhone. As such, the deputy went on to use the Find My iPhone feature to urgently look for the phone given to him by the county.

That said, the deputy realized that he luckily left his iPhone on the truck of the suspect, guiding him in the car chase. The police further recalled that he placed his smartphone on the vehicle as he was reaching for his handcuffs.

Find My iPhone Guides Police and Suspect Chase

9to5Mac further noted that the Find My app of Apple eased up a supposedly stressful chase between the officer and the suspect.

With the guidance of the Find My iPhone, the police finally caught Sandoval after following him for at least about an hour.

However, 9to5Mac noted in the same report that it is illegal for police officers to track a suspect using a GPS.

Nevertheless, the deputy assured that the use of the Find My iPhone in the chase was not intentional. He reiterated that he accidentally left his phone on the truck.

So, does that make it legal? A law professor at the University of Califonia, Orin Kerr, shared his two cents about the incident, saying that "I doubt there was a constitutional violation."

But that is if the claims of the police officer are to be believed. If Deputy Perk really accidentally dropped his iPhone on the truck, then it would not be illegal.

Although this Find My feature incident was helpful for police to chase a suspect, the app is not always beneficial. Research suggested that the Apple Find My function could be exploited by hackers.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris