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When Apple unveiled iOS 18 earlier this month, I used to be considerably upset by the shortage of great new safety and privateness options. I nonetheless really feel that technique to some extent. Nevertheless, after testing the iOS 18 beta for over two weeks, I wish to spotlight a few of my favourite and noteworthy options. So, right here’s my rating in ascending order.
Taking one more observe from the Images app, which permits customers to pick out particular person photographs to share over a complete library, Apple has added the power to select and select which contacts to share with an app. Earlier than iOS 18, customers solely had two choices: giving an app full entry to all their contacts or no entry.
Who customers have of their Contacts might reveal extra about them than they’re comfy with. For instance, a health care provider’s contact might point out a delicate medical situation; a crunch, temple, or mosque tackle can level to non secular affiliation.
4. Lock and Conceal apps
In iOS 18, Apple took a observe from the Images app and now permits customers to lock or disguise any software on the house display screen. The app will stay hidden in every single place apart from an space in Settings and a hidden apps folder, which each require Face ID, Contact ID, or a passcode to open.
Apple claims this permits customers to safeguard delicate content material from unintended publicity when sharing their units or exhibiting their screens to others.
“We relentlessly ship on our dedication to present customers the strongest and most progressive privateness protections,” says Erik Neuenschwander, Apple’s director of Person Privateness, in a press launch in the present day. “This 12 months is not any exception, and the power to lock and conceal apps is only one instance of Apple serving to customers stay in command of their info, even when they’re sharing their units with others.”
Right here’s the way it works:
- Press and maintain on any app
- Choose Require Face ID
- Then select between Require Face ID or Conceal and Require Face ID
- The latter will take away the app from your house display screen altogether and place it in a hidden apps folder on the backside of your final apps web page
3. RCS assist, big
With the discharge of iOS 18 beta 2 final week, Apple added RCS assist, permitting iPhone customers to lastly ship wealthy messages with audio and bigger media information to Android customers. In contrast to SMS, RCS gives acquainted options reminiscent of learn receipts and the traditional typing indication animation, but it surely additionally has vastly improved privateness and safety.
Till final week, should you despatched SMS/MMS messages to non-iPhone customers, they weren’t encrypted and, in actual fact, despatched in plain textual content–readable to a probably malicious third occasion. One of many principal benefits of RCS is full end-to-end encryption, which ensures that solely the sender and recipient can learn the messages. As well as, RCS gives a message verification system that ensures solely verified firms can ship texts to customers, decreasing the quantity of spam and phishing makes an attempt a consumer might obtain.
2. Apple’s new Passwords app
In earlier variations of iOS, Apple supplied its built-in Keychain password supervisor software hidden throughout the Settings app. It allowed for passwords to be routinely generated and saved within the Passwords part, however it will possibly usually be cumbersome when a consumer must handle specific logins.
Now, in iOS 18, passwords have a devoted app known as Passwords. Apple hopes this variation will make password administration extra handy for its customers. Like 1Password, saved passwords might be accessed from any signed-in Apple gadget. You’ll be able to even entry your saved passwords on Home windows by way of the iCloud for Home windows app. Passwords will even include some fairly aggressive options.
“Constructing on the muse of Keychain, which Apple first launched greater than 25 years in the past, the brand new Passwords app makes it simple for customers to entry account passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and two-factor authentication codes saved securely in Keychain. The app additionally consists of alerts for customers concerning widespread weaknesses, reminiscent of passwords that may be simply guessed, have been used a number of instances, or have appeared in recognized information leaks,” based on Apple.
I’m excited to see Apple proceed to construct upon this.
Associated: Can Apple’s new Passwords app exchange your password supervisor?
1. Non-public Cloud Compute
Non-public Cloud Compute (PCC) is a kind of unveiled at WWDC24 that isn’t getting sufficient consideration. PCC was created utilizing Apple’s silicon chips to course of Apple Intelligence requests with end-to-end encryption. Apple claims it has zero entry to this information, touting a brand new stage of privateness within the Synthetic Intelligence discipline.
Even in the present day, iPhone, iPad, and Mac aren’t highly effective sufficient to assist all of the AI fashions customers want regionally. So Apple Intelligence does one thing fairly intelligent. Everytime you use a characteristic like Siri in iOS 18, it is going to use a mixture of on-device and server-based generative AI fashions to deal with requests. Something outdoors Siri’s data is picked up and managed securely within the cloud.
That is the magic of Non-public Cloud Compute.
“When a consumer makes a request, Apple Intelligence analyzes whether or not it may be processed on the gadget. If it wants better computational capability, it will possibly draw on Non-public Cloud Compute, which is able to ship solely the info that’s related to the duty to be processed on Apple silicon servers. When requests are routed to Non-public Cloud Compute, information shouldn’t be saved or made accessible to Apple, and is barely used to satisfy the consumer’s requests,” based on Apple.
Extra lower-level particulars on how PCC works right here.
About Safety Chew: Safety Chew is a weekly security-focused column on 9to5Mac. Each week, Arin Waichulis delivers insights on information privateness, uncovers vulnerabilities, or sheds gentle on rising threats inside Apple’s huge ecosystem of over 2 billion energetic gadgets that will help you keep protected.
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