The iPad Loophole

This year my school gave iPads to all of our high school students. We were one of the first in the state. It's been an exciting year full of surprises and learning.

During the first semester some of our creative and talented students found an interesting iOS loophole that gave them unfiltered access to the web. The trouble stems from Apps that, instead of storing their help documentation locally on the device, pull in their help documentation from the web. To the average user there is no difference between the two methods, however some students discovered that by clicking through the help files, they could navigate to a Google search page and then to any website on the internet. Some apps featured only small help screens, while others, such as the Google Earth App, featured a full screen web browser.

Facebook accessed through the Google Earth App

Twitter accessed through the Screen Chomp App

Over Christmas break we were forced to remove the following apps, all of which contained this loophole.

Grace to you
Billy Graham
Touch Bible
Logos study bible
Powerone calculator
Loan calculator
Halftone
Doodle buddy
Showme
Google Earth
Screenchomp
italk
Christianity Today
Word reference
lynda.com
PBS
super 8
Words with friends

It's unfortunate that security and safety frequently conflict with creativity and learning. 

Note: I understand that many educators are advocates of teaching students to browse the web safely instead of blocking access to social media and other potentially useful tools. While this is a noble goal, the reality of life as we know it includes the fact that the majority of schools block Twitter, Facebook, and other potentially useful sites. This post is not meant to be a discussion of internet freedom, but a report on a potential security loophole in iOS devices.