Apple Shares Overview of Vision Pro’s Privacy and Security Features

Following the launch of the Vision Pro, Apple has shared a new document outlining various privacy and security measures for the headset. An overview of some of the Vision Pro’s privacy policies, according to Apple: Where you look before you interact with content is not shared with Apple or the apps you are using, and […]

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Apple Warns Proposed UK Law Could ‘Secretly Veto’ Global User Protections

Apple is “deeply concerned” that proposed changes to British surveillance legislation could give the U.K. government unprecedented powers to secretly prevent software updates from being released in an any other country (via BBC News). The UK government is planning to update the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which came into effect in 2016 and allows the […]

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Research Reveals How iPhone Push Notifications Leak User Data

Security researcher Tommy Mysk has demonstrated that iPhone push notifications are being used by popular apps to covertly send data about the user. In a new video outlining the practice, Mysk highlighted how certain iOS apps exploit a feature introduced in iOS 10 that is designed to allow apps to customize push notifications. This feature, […]

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Apple Adds Push Notification Data to Law Enforcement Guidelines

Apple has updated its Legal Process Guidelines to reflect the company’s legal obligation to comply with law enforcement requests for Apple ID information associated with its push notification service. The change follows yesterday’s revelation that governments are actively using smartphone notification data as a user surveillance tool. In the section titled “Information Available from Apple,” […]

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Apple Considered Making DuckDuckGo Default Search Engine in Safari Private Browsing Mode

Back in 2018, Apple held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Google as the default search engine in private browsing mode, but ultimately rejected the idea, according to transcripts unsealed by the judge overseeing the US government’s antitrust trial against Google in Washington. Testifying in closed sessions, DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg said that his company had […]

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Apple Highlights iPhone’s Privacy Features in Short Film Starring ‘Ted Lasso’ Actor

In celebration of Data Privacy Day on January 28, Apple has shared a short film in which actor Nick Mohammed from the hit Apple TV+ comedy series “Ted Lasso” learns about iPhone privacy features. Mohammed is accompanied by Von, who is an actual Specialist at Apple’s Tower Theatre store in Los Angeles, according to Apple. […]

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Apple Device Analytics Contain Identifying iCloud User Data, Claim Security Researchers

A new analysis has claimed that Apple’s device analytics contain information that can directly link information about how a device is used, its performance, features, and more, directly to a specific user, despite Apple’s claims otherwise. On Twitter, security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry have found that Apple’s device analytics data includes an […]

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Apple Hit With Class Action Alleging It Tracks Users Despite Privacy Assurances

Apple is facing a proposed federal class action alleging that it records users’ mobile activity without their consent and despite privacy assurances, in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, reports Bloomberg. In a lawsuit filed by New York citizen and iPhone 13 owner Elliot Libman, Apple is accused of “utterly false” assurances that […]

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Apple Collects the Least Amount of User Data Out of Major Tech Companies, Study Suggests

Thursday August 25, 2022 3:21 am PDT by Sami Fathi A new analysis has found that out of major tech giants, Apple collects the least amount of private user data from its users, with Google, Twitter, Amazon, and Facebook, collecting much more data from its users than the iPhone maker. The study measured how many […]

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Apple CEO Tim Cook Writes Letter to U.S. Senate Supporting Strong Privacy Legislation

Apple CEO Tim Cook today wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate advocating for strong privacy legislation at the federal level. The letter appears to be in response to a proposed bipartisan bill titled the “American Data Privacy and Protection Act” that would outline the types of data companies can collect from individuals and how […]

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Apple Highlights iPhone’s Latest Privacy Features in New ‘Data Auction’ Ad

Apple today shared a new ad highlighting iPhone privacy features like App Tracking Transparency and Mail Privacy Protection that are designed to give users more transparency and control when it comes to their personal data being collected. The ad revolves around a young woman named Ellie who discovers that her personal data is being sold […]

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Apple’s Privacy Chief Jane Horvath to Speak at EU Data Protection Conference

Apple’s privacy chief Jane Horvath is listed as a speaker at the 2022 Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference in Brussels, Belgium. Apple is also sponsoring the conference, which is scheduled for May 23 through May 25. It’s unclear when Horvath will speak or what topics she plans to discuss at the conference, but Apple […]

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Meta Partly Blames Apple’s iOS Privacy Changes for Slowing Its 2022 Hiring Plans

Meta, still better known as Facebook, plans to hire fewer new employees for the remainder of 2022 than previously planned, the company’s chief financial officer, David Wehner, said in an internal memo obtained by Business Insider that partly blamed Apple. In the letter to Meta employees, Wehner said that the company needs to “take another […]

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Tim Cook Delivers Speech Emphasizing Apple’s Opposition to Sideloading

Apple CEO Tim Cook today delivered the keynote speech at the Global Privacy Summit in Washington D.C. The conference, hosted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals, is focused on international privacy and data protection. Cook reflected on Apple’s ongoing commitment to privacy, which the company has repeatedly described as a fundamental human right. “The […]

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Apple CEO Tim Cook to Speak at Global Privacy Summit in Washington D.C. Next Week

The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) today announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook will headline this year’s Global Privacy Summit, which will take place in person on April 11 to April 13 in Washington, D.C. Cook will provide the summit’s keynote speech on April 12 at approximately 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time. His speech will […]

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watchOS 8.5 Fixes Mail Privacy Protection Loophole That Could Expose IP Addresses

watchOS 8.5 fixes a security vulnerability in the Mail app that could leak a user’s IP address when downloading remote content, security researchers have found. Last year, it emerged that Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection feature was undermined by a lack of Apple Watch support. Mail Privacy Protection was a new feature introduced with iOS 15, […]

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iOS 15 Patched Security Hole That Potentially Exposed Users’ Private Apple ID Information to Third-Party Apps

Apple patched two significant security vulnerabilities when it released iOS 15 that could have potentially exposed users’ private Apple ID information and in-app search history to malicious third-party apps and allowed apps to override user Privacy preferences, Apple has revealed in a recent support document update. With most iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS updates, Apple […]

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Apple’s Craig Federighi Says Sideloading on iPhone Would Open the Floodgates to Malware

Apple’s software engineering chief Craig Federighi today expressed his opposition to a provision in Europe’s proposed Digital Markets Act that would require the iPhone to allow sideloading of apps outside of the App Store. Speaking at the Web Summit conference in Portugal, Federighi said sideloading would result in the “floodgates” opening to malware. Federighi said […]

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Apple’s Privacy Features Have Cost Social Media Companies Nearly $10 Billion in Revenue

As a result of its privacy features, Apple has cost social media companies including Meta, formerly known as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and YouTube, nearly $10 billion in revenue in the second half of 2021, according to an investigation by the Financial Times. The Financial Times found that most users have opted out of tracking using […]

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Apple’s Proposed Phone-Scanning Child Safety Features ‘Invasive, Ineffective, and Dangerous,’ Say Cybersecurity Researchers in New Study

More than a dozen prominent cybersecurity experts hit out at Apple on Thursday for relying on “dangerous technology” in its controversial plan to detect child sexual abuse images on iPhones (via The New York Times). The damning criticism came in a new 46-page study by researchers that looked at plans by Apple and the European […]

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