Apple makes the right choice with the new private connection option on iPhone

Beyond the glitz of the new features of the iPhone and a new $ 6,000 supercomputer, the underlying theme of Monday's annual conference of Apple's developers was privacy.

The new hearing protection feature of the Apple Watch does not record ambient noise around you. Security cameras connected to Apple's HomeKit system will encrypt your video streams. Etc.

The most important announcement was "Connect to Apple", a new option that developers can add to their applications so that users can log in without having to create a username and password. separate passes. It is similar to all the login buttons that you see on the apps and websites of Facebook and Google, except that Apple states that its solution does not collect any personal data from you. In fact, it gives you the ability to scramble your email address so that a third party can never store it.

But the most important aspect of the connection with Apple was unearthed after the Apple event when developers have pointed out that as of the release of iOS 13 this fall, any application offering the possibility of connect with Google or Facebook will also be required to offer Connect also with Apple.

This decision does not simply separate Apple from its data-hungry rivals, it adds the knife by placing its privacy-focused connection option right next to Facebook and Google. Convenience should no longer be at the expense of your data. Apple has taken advantage of a unique opportunity to educate its vast user base of over 900 million users to the privacy practices of its Big Tech rivals. Even if someone likes Facebook and Google, he will now be asked by Apple to remind him that his companies are not always aware of data collection every time they try to connect to an application.

Despite all of Apple's criticism for exercising too much power and control over how applications work on the iPhone – much of this criticism is legitimate – forcing developers to use Sign in with Apple is far more beneficial than harmful .

Yet with all the progressive privacy changes Apple made on Monday, he could have done more. There are many third-party applications on iOS that enrich your private data without knowing exactly what they're doing.

Last week, Wall Street Journal technical columnist Joanna Stern discovered that dozens of apps using the Apple App Store were using third-party data tracking systems without providing clear communication on what they followed. Geoffrey Fowler, technical columnist for the Washington Post, has discovered that many popular apps like Spotify and Yelp are transmitting personal data even when you're not using your iPhone.

These data-hungry applications will not control themselves. Although they have the right to make money with their ads, there is no system that allows iPhone users to know what personal information each downloaded app is collected about them. .

Although many arguments tend to show that Apple has too much power over software distribution in the App Store, Apple can also use these powers to compel applications to provide clear and concise information about the type of data collected .

Connecting to Apple is a great first step, but if Apple wants to continue to promote and sell its products based on its prowess in terms of privacy, there is still much work to be done.