iOS 14 And macOS Big Sur Will Introduce Massive Improvements To User Privacy

Apple has long touted themselves as a company that values the privacy of its users. In fact with the upcoming updates to iOS and macOS, it seems that Apple will be making those commitments to privacy even more upfront-and-center, starting with changing how certain privacy features work by making them an opt-in feature.

For example with Safari, Apple gives users the option to opt-out of being tracked, but the problem is how many users actually know they are being tracked in the first place, and how many of them know about the ability to opt-out? By making it an opt-in feature, it means that apps will now need to ask users permission to track them, meaning that it should be very obvious to users right at the start.

Apple has also made some changes to the transparency of apps, which the company has likened to the nutrition labels you might see on foods. This means that developers will need to let users know what kind of data may be collected on them as they use the app, and whether or not they can be tracked.

The company has also introduced new icons in iOS 14 where if the phone’s camera or microphone has been activated, a green or orange indicator icon will appear in the status bar to let them know. While apps already need user permission in order to access the microphone and camera, this should make it more obvious.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones, Computers
Tags: iOS, ios 14, macOS, Privacy