When you take your smartphone to a service center for repairs, you usually prefer an authorized dealer of the manufacturer to avoid any data leakage from your mobile. And iPhone owners are especially lucky as Apple has very good stores to cover the repairs and service needs for millions of Macs and iPhones.
But something went wrong at one such Apple retail store in Brisbane, Australia.
Apple Store staff allegedly stole private images of female customers who brought their iPhones in for repairs. Apple responded immediately by firing the staff responsible for the theft of the photos.
The matter came to light after a staff member at the Carindale store discovered a technician searching through a customer's phone in the repair room. According to the report, staff at the Carindale Apple store were stealing photos from their female customers and sharing them in a photo-sharing circle. The stolen photos were allegedly rated from 1 to 10 based on their bodies.
An Apple staff member told The Courier Mail that the “disgusting” practice was also being observed at other Apple stores. In a statement, the company confirmed that the Carindale store was under investigation and the staff had been fired.
In a statement on the matter, an spokesperson said: "Apple believes in treating everyone equally and with respect and does not tolerate behavior that conflicts with our values. We have met with the store team to update them on the investigation and the steps we are taking to protect their privacy."
However, there is more to the story. The employees at the store were fired, but Apple says the images of the female customers in question were not shared. Apple says there is no evidence that any female victims were involved.
"Based on our investigation to date," Apple said, "we have no evidence that customer data or photos were improperly transferred or that any of the former employees took customer photos."
The Australian Privacy Commissioner is also looking into the alleged privacy breach. “This is an important reminder that all organisations that collect and manage personal information must embed a culture of privacy and ensure their employees understand their responsibilities,” he said.
