All the new privacy protections in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur



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Illustration from the article titled All the new privacy protections in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur

Picture: Apple

Apple’s major annual software updates, iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, include many new privacy and security features to lock down your data and protect your devices. These are all the ways your iPhone and Mac are now more secure than ever.

Data breach warnings

iOS and macOS already offered to sync passwords through iCloud Keychain for you, and would alert next to passwords that were used multiple times or were easy to guess. With iOS 14 and macOS Big Sure, you’ll also receive warnings if any of your passwords or login details appear in a data breach that has been made public on the web.

To view the passwords stored on your behalf, open Safari and choose Safari, Preferences and Passwords on macOS, or go to Passwords in Settings on iOS.

Website privacy reports

If you open Safari on iOS 14 or macOS Big Sur, you can access new privacy bulletins. Press the AA icon in the address bar, then Confidentiality report on your phone or click the shield icon to the left of your computer’s address bar. You can see how many trackers Safari has blocked on the site you are currently blocking, as well as a running total over the past 30 days.

This tracker blocking in Safari is nothing new, but now you get a more detailed report of the steps that are taken and which websites (or ad networks) are the worst offenders when it comes to trying to monitor. what you ‘do on multiple sites.

Illustration from the article titled All the new privacy protections in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur

Screenshot: Safari / macOS

Application privacy cards

This feature has yet to come live in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, but Apple is working with developers on app privacy cards. They work the same way as nutrition labels on food packaging, giving you a quick overview of what data an app will be allowed to collect and how that data might be shared with third parties. These privacy cards haven’t been deployed yet, but when they appear you’ll see them in the App Store on macOS Big Sur and iOS 14.

Limits of application tracking

Another feature that has been delayed for now, but is definitely on its way, is tighter controls on how iOS apps can track you and target the ads they show you. Apple wants this type of tracking to be an explicit user permission, but Facebook says it’s unfair for advertisers and free services that rely on advertising (few users are likely to opt for tracking extra by choice, after all). There is more on the feature to come in Apple’s blog post for developers. here.

Traffic signs

Your iPhone will now show a small indicator light at the top of the screen if an app is currently accessing your camera (a green light) or a microphone (an orange light). Apps require explicit permission to use these features, but you might have forgotten one or more that use these permissions surreptitiously.

Swipe down from the top right corner of the screen to access Control Center, and apps that have recently used the camera or microphone are listed above the buttons and widgets. This is another way to check that apps are performing well.

Macs of course come with their own green light when accessing the webcam, but that’s nothing new in macOS Big Sur. To check which apps can use what, go to Security and confidentiality then Privacy in System Preferences on a Mac, or Privacy menu in Settings on iOS.

Copy from clipboard

If you launch or switch to an app on iOS 14, and that app reads what’s in the clipboard before you do anything, the operating system will notify you now. some well-known applications in hot water during beta testing.

The apps themselves would say they’re trying to speed up processes for the user (preloading a website URL that’s in the device’s clipboard, for example), but that’s not not very nice from a privacy standpoint.

Most apps have now cleaned up their act in time for the full and final version of iOS 14, but if you see any of these messages appearing at the top of your iPhone screen, you know what it’s up to. acts. There is no such feature on macOS (yet).

Precise locations

If you want an app to know your approximate location, such as what neighborhood you are in, but not exactly where you are, a new privacy setting in iOS 14 makes that possible. In Settings, go to Privacy then Rental services, then choose any application. You will be able to deactivate access to your precise location if necessary, as well as view all the existing location access options.

Illustration from the article titled All the new privacy protections in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur

Screenshot: ios

Limited photo access

Apple applied the same type of restrictions on Camera Roll access as it applied to location access in iOS 14. Go to Privacy and Pictures in Settings, then tap an app, and you can change its access permission from All Photos to Selected Photos – very handy if you want an app to only access a specific number of photos or a certain album, rather than every picture on your phone. Until now, these granular controls for location and access to photos have not been extended to macOS.

Wifi spying

If you press Wireless from the Settings screen in iOS 14, then on the blue information icon next to your current wifi network, you will see a new entry called Private address. This option is enabled by default and gives your device a different Media Access Control (MAC) address when connecting to different networks. This makes it harder for apps, websites, and the company that provides your internet to track your iPhone across multiple Wi-Fi points. As of yet, such an option does not exist in macOS.

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