Hacker complains about unsolicited sync with iCloud server

With the introduction of OS X Yosemite, files are synced to iCloud unsolicited, complains a hacker and security researcher. That happens even with files that haven’t even been saved yet, according to hacker Jeffrey Paul.

With the introduction of Yosemite, Apple’s operating system offers the possibility to continue working on documents on other devices without having to press ‘save’. However, this means that even unsaved documents are unsolicited synchronized with Apple’s servers, writes hacker Jeffrey Paul.

This happens because the saved application state of several apps, including the included text editor of OS X TextEdit, iA Writer and Pixelmator, is synced with iCloud. “Any open and unsaved document in an app is silently and automatically uploaded to iCloud Drive,” writes Paul. “And with that to the government”, with which the hacker refers to Apple’s cooperation in the US government’s Prism surveillance program. “This is unacceptable.”

Paul is also annoyed that iCloud now syncs unsolicited email addresses from people someone has been in contact with through the Mail app on OS X, even if they’re an email account with a different email provider.