Apple today announced an update to its privacy website that touches on various new privacy benefits found in iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, and more. Apple's updated website includes white papers on how the company approaches privacy in Safari, Sign in with Apple, Location Services, and Photos, providing visitors with a deeper insight into the company's privacy mission.
The website reinforces Apple's four core privacy principles: minimizing the data collected from users, processing the data on the device when possible, transparency when collecting data and how it's used, and strong device encryption. You can visit the website for yourself at Apple.com/privacy, which is now highlighting iOS apps like Maps, Photos, and Messages, and how they each enhance iPhone users' privacy.
According to Apple, there are multiple recent privacy and security innovations that it has accomplished with its latest software updates:
- Contacts: Any notes stored in the notes section of the Contacts app will not be shared with third party applications when they are granted access to the Contacts app.
- Find My: Apple uses end-to-end encryption to communicate with other Apple devices nearby in order to find lost iPhones and Macs, ensuring that it doesn't know the location of the device or the identity of the device that discovered it.
- Arcade: No advertising or third-party tracking is ever permitted.
- Background tracking notifications: iPhone owners now get notifications when apps are using their location in the background, providing them with a chance to turn this feature off.
You can click on different tabs on the website to view the new white papers for services like Safari, Face ID, Location Services, and more. While the website itself remains a straightforward look at how Apple handles user data, each white paper offers a more nuanced dive into specific programs and services at Apple, and how the company is aiming to enhance privacy with every new update.
The site also includes a tab for its transparency reports, showcasing how Apple is committed to being transparent about responding to government requests for user data around the world. Here you can scroll through each region to see how often Apple has shared user data with the local government, beginning as far back as 2013 and stretching to 2018.
