*** UPDATE *** 11/17 – Turns out DCA doesn’t see it the same way I do. Even Apple says its not tamper-proof. I still don’t think that the iPhone is compliant with the letter of the law because the scenario from the DCA here relies on the third party’s server-side editing of the data. Thats kinda like tampering with it and its hard to verify after the fact that on a certain day and time, the server was synchronized, etc…, but if DCA’s own general counsel says it is compliant, then I gotta yield:
Per DCA:
Mr. (REDACTED)
As you know, the rule requires that the electronic record of service must be labeled with the GPS or cellular network date and military time maintained by the mobile device. Assuming that the reference clock providing the time to the Stratum 1 NTP clock to which the server is synchronized is a GPS or newtwork source, I think that the transmission of time from the server to the mobile device complies with the rule.Sanford M. Cohen
Deputy General Counsel
NYC Department of Consumer Affairs
42 Broadway, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Tel: (212) 487-4240
Fax: (212) 487-4197
nyc.gov/consumers
……………………………..
So: DCA says an iPhone can be compliant with their rules…
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Original Post:
Surprise! There’s no way to get a tamper-proof network time from the iPhone! See the response from Apple below as I asked them about getting a separate GPS signal date and time like our droid app does. So yes, our iPhone app is almost done, BUT IT IS NOT GOING TO BE DCA COMPLIANT! … and neither is anyone else’s iPhone app. That’s why you’re hearing phrases out there like *virtually* compliant. I don’t know about you, but unless you want a *virtual* fine from DCA, you need to be doing your homework about these apps and how they work or rubbing elbows with people that do.
Don’t listen to the marketing hype from some of these places. You are talking to sales people and their job is to sell you something. They don’t understand the programattical technicalities that the new DCA rules have in them. I wondered why they specified about the two dates and times they want in the rules. It tells me that someone there knows very well that the iPhone times can be tampered with and that’s why they want the GPS date and time/network time.
Winter’s coming, don’t get snowed. What you will see now is these other companies will rush to make droid apps, but what you should remember is none of them came clean with you and protected you and your business up front and honestly in the first place. They just glossed over it and wanted to sell you their iPhone apps while they scrambled. Make sure you’re putting your trust in the right people who not only have the knowledge and passion needed to protect you, but also the blunt honesty to tell you what time it is so you know what’s going on.
………………………………………….
Please include the line below in follow-up emails for this request.
Follow-up: 1751xxxxx (REDACTED)
Hello Robert,
Thank you for contacting Apple Developer Technical Support (DTS). Our engineers have reviewed your request and have concluded that there is no supported way to achieve the desired functionality given the currently shipping system configurations.
If you would like for Apple to consider adding support for direct access to the raw GPS data in the future, please submit an enhancement request via the Bug Reporter tool at .
While you were initially charged a technical support incident for this support request, we have assigned a replacement incident back to your account.
Thank you for taking the time to file this report. We truly appreciate your help in discovering and isolating issues.
Best Regards,
Developer Technical Support
Apple Worldwide Developer Relations


Recent Comments