WatchWitch: Interoperability, Privacy, and Autonomy for the Apple Watch
- URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2507.07210v1
- Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2025 18:33:58 GMT
- Title: WatchWitch: Interoperability, Privacy, and Autonomy for the Apple Watch
- Authors: Nils Rollshausen, Alexander Heinrich, Matthias Hollick, Jiska Classen,
- Abstract summary: We reverse-engineer the Apple Watch's wireless protocols.<n>With WatchWitch, we break out of Apple's walled garden.<n>We thus pave the way for more consumer choice in the smartwatch ecosystem.
- Score: 50.89778047875175
- License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
- Abstract: Smartwatches such as the Apple Watch collect vast amounts of intimate health and fitness data as we wear them. Users have little choice regarding how this data is processed: The Apple Watch can only be used with Apple's iPhones, using their software and their cloud services. We are the first to publicly reverse-engineer the watch's wireless protocols, which led to discovering multiple security issues in Apple's proprietary implementation. With WatchWitch, our custom Android reimplementation, we break out of Apple's walled garden -- demonstrating practical interoperability with enhanced privacy controls and data autonomy. We thus pave the way for more consumer choice in the smartwatch ecosystem, offering users more control over their devices.
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