Patrick Holland / CNET
This story is part of Apple event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.
One of the biggest changes to Apple’s privacy in recent years comes in a software update that you may barely notice until after installing it on your iPhone. The new software, called boring iOS 14.5, will be released next week, Apple said in a press release for the new program on Tuesday AirTags trackers after April product launch event. Includes the typical solutions you would expect in a minor software update. Apple will now allow people to do this unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch, which is handy when wearing a face mask in public to protect against coronavirus. People who use Apple Maps can too report accidents I see on the road. And of course there are new emojis, like a burning heart, a dizzy face and an expiring face.
The most controversial change comes when people open apps from companies like Facebook. There, they will be asked if they agree to track their activity in the applications and websites they use. Facebook will start including a message in its app to explain what this tracking is for, but a campaign has also begun pushing back against Apple’s approach.
Apple’s move, which it delayed from its initial plans to implement privacy features late last year, marks the latest way in which the tech giant is trying to live up to its advertising promise. providing software tools that guarantee better privacy.
Whether you think it’s a real effort to embrace CEO Tim Cook’s mantra that “privacy is a fundamental human right, “or just a way to compete with the competition while looking good to customers probably depends on how you feel about Apple.
But Apple is making these moves as people think about how the internet really works. Between Facebook Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, seemingly incessant flows of hacking attacks and Terribly well-targeted ads appearing on Google, Amazon, and all the other types of sites we visit on a daily basis, users are beginning to find out what they’re changing for all those “free” services they use.
Buried deep in the chords we all say yes to, but almost never read, most tech companies have written the right to supervise us to a level thought possible only in science fiction. Companies can follow us among the applications we use, the sites we visit and the shows we watch. They can find out where we spend our money and what we buy and we can associate it with the data from the closest friends to create rich profiles about who they think we are.
Look at this:
Apple reveals AirTags
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As we have learned over the years, that data is worth unimaginable amounts of money. Facebook and Google may have kept their promise not to sell information about us to the largest bidder, but they still helped advertisers target us with shockingly accurate advertising – and Pew Research found that many people consider that it is bad.
In an April 12 Toronto Star interview, Cook said that iOS 14.5 was created in part because he believes people should be asked to give their consent to modern advertising techniques. In the case of Apple, the new software will include a pop-up window, which will ask users if they agree to allow an application or company to “track” all applications and websites owned by other companies “to “Deliver personalized ads.” ”
“We think a number of people – I don’t know how many – don’t want to be followed like that,” Cook said. “And he should be able to say no.”
Although the new Apple iOS 14.5 privacy settings will push these issues to the front and center when giving people an easy way to turn off more invasive tracking, they won’t put an end to the practice, though Google promises to lighten up a bit.
Apple’s iOS 14.5 will be available free for iPhone and iPad dating from the iPhone 6S from 2015 and iPad Air 2 from 2014.