Now we all have X-ray vision: the iPhone just changed our privacy expectations and legal rights

I recently discovered via Techdirt an iPhone feature that at first seemed little more than a gimmick, but turns out to have legal repercussions: when you place the camera up against a tinted car window, the technology it uses in low light conditions makes it possible to see inside the vehicle. Think how newer iPhones seemingly “invent light” for night scenes, creating spectacular results.

A court case dating back to 2022 in the United States hinged on whether police officers in Connecticut had the right to look into a suspect’s vehicle, which had tinted windows and was parked on the street, without a search warrant. The judge reasoned that because any iPhone owner could do the same, it was reasonable for the police to do. In other words, while not strictly in plain view, it was close enough so as not to violate the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights, which protects citizens from arbitrary searches and seizures and regulates the need for search warrants.

The defendent argued that he had an expectation of privacy in his parked vehicle by virtue of having tinted the windows. The judge countered by ruling that if the window tint complied with state law, it would have been possible to see inside the car without using a smartphone. In short, a subjectiveexpectation…