Apple Highlights New Privacy Features in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, Including Microphone Indicator on Mac

[MacRumors]

Apple today previewed new privacy protections coming in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8. The software updates are available in beta for developers starting today and will be publicly released later this year.

First, a new App Privacy Report feature will let users see how often apps have used the permission they've previously granted to access their location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts during the past seven days. Users can also find out with whom their data may be shared by seeing all the third-party domains an app is contacting.

App Privacy Report will arrive as part of a future software update to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 later this year.

Second, a new Hide My Email feature will provide users with access to unique, random iCloud email addresses that forward emails to their personal inbox anytime they wish to keep their personal email address private. Hide My Email will debut in the Mail app as part of a future update to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and iCloud.com, and it will enable users to create and delete as many email addresses as needed at any time.

Apple has introduced a new iCloud+ subscription plan that combines Apple's existing iCloud storage tiers with privacy features such as Hide My Email, iCloud Private Relay, and expanded HomeKit Secure Video support, at no additional cost.

Private Relay is a new VPN-like service that's built right into iCloud, allowing users to connect to and browse the web in a more secure and private way. When browsing in Safari on Apple devices, Private Relay will ensure all traffic leaving the device is encrypted.

Apple on Private Relay:

All the user's requests are then sent through two separate internet relays. The first assigns the user an anonymous IP address that maps to their region but not their actual location. The second decrypts the web address they want to visit and forwards them to their destination. This separation of information protects the user's privacy because no single entity can identify both who a user is and which sites they visit.

iCloud+ expands built-in support for HomeKit Secure Video, allowing for unlimited cameras:

• 50GB of iCloud storage with one HomeKit Secure Video camera for $0.99 per month
• 200GB of iCloud storage with up to five HomeKit Secure Video cameras for $2.99 per month
• 2TB of iCloud storage with an unlimited number of HomeKit Secure Video cameras for $9.99 per month

Next up is Siri, which is moving to on-device speech recognition with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, meaning the audio of users' requests is processed right on their iPhone or iPad by default. For many requests, Siri processing is also moving on device, enabling requests to be processed without an internet connection, such as launching apps, setting timers and alarms, changing settings, or controlling music.

Since the release of iOS 14, an iPhone displays a green or orange dot in the status bar when an app is using the device's camera or microphone, respectively. Now, starting with macOS Monterey, users can also see which apps have access to their Mac's microphone in Control Center. A new software indicator augments the camera indicator light by showing you whenever an app has access to the microphone. This complements the hardware-based green light that appears next to a Mac's webcam when it is active.

Other new privacy features outlined by Apple:

• With share current location, users can easily share their current location with an app just once, without giving the developer further access after that session. Developers can customize the share current location button, and integrate it directly into their apps.
• With enhanced Photos limited library access, developers can offer smart functionality — like a recent photos folder for specific albums — even when a user has only granted limited access.
• With secure paste, developers can let users paste from a different app without having access to what was copied until the user takes action to paste it into their app. When developers use secure paste, users will be able to paste without being alerted via the pasteboard transparency notification, helping give them peace of mind.

These are only some of the new privacy features coming in Apple's new software updates, and we'll be highlighting others in the coming days.

Article Link: Apple Highlights New Privacy Features in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, Including Microphone Indicator on Mac

 

[countryside]

Is there any reason why Private Relay is only on Safari and not system-wide?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗]

Love... How apple is taking privacy seriously!

 

[_Spinn_]

The App Privacy Report sounds great!

 

[IceStormNG]

Is there any reason why Private Relay is only on Safari and not system-wide?

Probably, so you cannot torrent through it.

 

[BWhaler]

Please correct me if I’m wrong, and I really hope I am…

But Apple did not include Apps in the new feature to obscure IP address. If so, this is a massive chicken-out move for Apple. IP address is one of the most common and reliable tools used for fingerprinting by the data miners like facebook and the ad networks.

Why wouldn’t Apple include that, unless they are really afraid of the antitrust stuff.

 

[wolfshades]

Man, Apple is really stepping up their security game. I’m more than pleased with what was presented today and can’t wait to see IOS 15 roll out.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Thanks for the article, Joe. Much appreciated.

I am really happy with Apple's direction with security and privacy. I look forward to using these new features, which I consider big.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Is there any reason why Private Relay is only on Safari and not system-wide?

Because you shouldn't be trying to pick up every browser that walks by and winks at you.

 

[fontman]

That's nice to see if you use iCloud plus you getting a lot of cool security enhancements no additional cost cool.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Because you shouldn't be trying to pick up the every browser that walks by and winks at you.

Was not expecting to read about anthropomorphized browsers today .

 

[Apple_Robert]

Was not expecting to read about anthropomorphized browsers today .

You win the internet today for using one of my favorite words in your retort.

 

[jericho53]

Finally I can vandalize wikipedia articles from all my apple devices without a vpn!

 

[Jamie0003]

Will it be possible to change your Apple ID entirely with these changes? I get an excessive amount of spam on my iCloud account and want to start again, but doing so would mean losing my account and all of my purchses. I can crate an alias now, but I can’t set it as default and delete my current one.

 

[Doctor Q]

What's a use case for secure paste?

 

[chabig]

What's a use case for secure paste?

Apps that use the secure paste API guarantee to users that data pasted from the pasteboard was done so as a result of user action, not programmatically. As a result, the user doesn’t have to see the paste transparency notification.

 

[Doctor Q]

Apps that use the secure paste API guarantee to users that data pasted from the pasteboard was done so as a result of user action, not programmatically. As a result, the user doesn’t have to see the paste transparency notification.

That's the description I read. I was asking for an example of when the feature would be wanted.

 

[chabig]

That's the description I read. I was asking for an example of when the feature would be wanted.

I think this would always be wanted. I hope all developers implement paste using this API. For specific use cases, this benefits the user whenever sensitive information (passwords, personally identifiable information) is on the pasteboard.

 

[Cleartz]

Liking the new privacy features.

 

[JippaLippa]

I really like macOS implementing the iOS privacy features

 

[orthorim]

Securing the pasteboard - very welcome - anticipating paste attacks there, as some apps were simply always sending the pasteboard contents back to their home servers. Problematic if you have passwords or crypto wallet keys in there. And who doesnt.

I am impressed with the VPN too - Apple has really good security engineers when they do something, it's solid, so I expect this to be impenetrable even by Google - even though Google sees through basically all VPNs, no need to try and hide yourself from the great G, they have access to VPN data and know exactly who you are. When I connect to VPN they're like "oh, he's connecting through ProtonVPN now" (marking as specific brand vpn user)...

Anyway Apple VPN should be great.

As for Apple having to appease various evil governments of the world - this is a problem and will continue to be a problem and unfortunately Apple can only solve this by opening up app stores to a decentralized system and giving up control of the app store. Which they won't do.

So they will keep controlling the apps, meaning the governments will keep controlling the apps.

 

[subjonas]

Besides the awesome new privacy features, I’m loving that we finally get some Siri functions on device (edit- meaning no more internet dependency)! Hope they keep adding more.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Please correct me if I’m wrong, and I really hope I am…

But Apple did not include Apps in the new feature to obscure IP address. If so, this is a massive chicken-out move for Apple. IP address is one of the most common and reliable tools used for fingerprinting by the data miners like facebook and the ad networks.

Why wouldn’t Apple include that, unless they are really afraid of the antitrust stuff.

Securing the pasteboard - very welcome - anticipating paste attacks there, as some apps were simply always sending the pasteboard contents back to their home servers. Problematic if you have passwords or crypto wallet keys in there. And who doesnt.

I am impressed with the VPN too - Apple has really good security engineers when they do something, it's solid, so I expect this to be impenetrable even by Google - even though Google sees through basically all VPNs, no need to try and hide yourself from the great G, they have access to VPN data and know exactly who you are. When I connect to VPN they're like "oh, he's connecting through ProtonVPN now" (marking as specific brand vpn user)...

Anyway Apple VPN should be great.

As for Apple having to appease various evil governments of the world - this is a problem and will continue to be a problem and unfortunately Apple can only solve this by opening up app stores to a decentralized system and giving up control of the app store. Which they won't do.

So they will keep controlling the apps, meaning the governments will keep controlling the apps.

If the relay is encrypted, how would the trackers be able to profit if they are able to see a IP address? Unless I am misunderstanding something, which has happened today, the IP posted isn't going to be your actual IP address. As such, there is no real tracking going on.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Besides the awesome new privacy features, I’m loving that we finally get some Siri functions on device! Hope they keep adding more.

Lots of great privacy stuff under the hood. I hope Apple takes it even farther with future updates.

 

[subjonas]

Lots of great privacy stuff under the hood. I hope Apple takes it even farther with future updates.

They’re pretty much guaranteed to. In a recent interview, federighi likened the pro and anti privacy battle as an ongoing cat and mouse game that Apple was committed to.