{"ID":2896730,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.07210","arxiv_id":"2507.07210","title":"WatchWitch: Interoperability, Privacy, and Autonomy for the Apple Watch","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.","short_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-enginee...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.07210","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.07210v1","authors":"[\"Nils Rollshausen\",\"Alexander Heinrich\",\"Matthias Hollick\",\"Jiska Classen\"]","published":"2025-07-09T18:33:58Z","proceeding":"cs.CR","tasks":"[\"cs.CR\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}