| Cult of Mac

How to keep your data private after Roe v. Wade reversal

By

This detailed guide will help you keep your data on your device and your device only.
This detailed guide will help you keep your data on your device and your device only.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade being overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Facebook turning over a teenager’s private chats about her abortion to police, protecting your data is more urgent than ever.

Your iPhone and Apple Watch, and third-party apps you use on them, efficiently capture data that could be used against you at a later date by law enforcement. We’re talking things like location data, ovulation records, text messages and your web-browsing history.

Keeping all your data private after Roe v. Wade to avoid prosecution could prove highly important. Luckily, Apple gives you powerful controls over how and where your data is stored. You just might need to adjust certain settings for maximum privacy.

Read on to dive deep into data security recommendations for iPhone, Apple Watch, and Mac.

Apple adds powerful new privacy features to Mail and more

By

Apple Privacy Slide from WWDC 2021
Apple is taking even more shots at advertisers in the WWDC 2021 Privacy updates
Screenshot: Apple

Apple is bringing big privacy-focused changes to its Mail app and other parts of its ecosystem, the company said Monday.

“At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior VP of software engineering. “We don’t think you should have to make a tradeoff between great features and privacy. We believe you deserve both.”

Get ready to log into websites with Face ID or Touch ID

By

Use Face ID or Touch ID to log into websites with Safari.
Logging in to websites is about to get easier for Apple users.
Screenshot: Apple

WWDC 2020 Safari users soon will be able to securely log into websites using Face ID and Touch ID. The new feature, which Apple is rolling out in iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, should take away one of the most irritating things about using the web — remembering, and then typing in, user names and complicated passwords.

On websites that support the feature, users can opt in to use Apple’s biometric ID systems, making that irritating login dance a thing of the past.

Apple apologizes for Siri spying, pledges privacy fixes

By

Siri
Going forward, no one will listen to what you say to Siri unless you approve it.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

A revamp of Apple’s program that had people monitoring Siri voice commands for quality control will soon ask users to opt-in first, and only Apple employees will be listening.

“We realize we haven’t been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologize,” the company said in a statement.

Ireland probes Apple’s compliance with strict EU privacy rules

By

Anti-robocall bill is one step closer to being passed into law
EU law sets strict privacy rules, and it’s the job of an Irish commissioner to be sure Apple is following them.
Photo: rawpixel.com/Pexels CC

Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner is looking into whether Apple is following all the requirements of the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation privacy law.

The DPC has three investigations going into Apple’s business practices, each covering a different aspect of the GDPR legislation. There are far more ongoing probes into how Facebook handles user privacy.

Apple guns for Facebook with new ‘Sign in with Apple’ privacy feature [Update]

By

Sign in with Apple
"Sign in with Apple" is a new privacy feature in iOS 13.
Photo: Alfred Ng

WWDC 2019 bug Update: Apple says “Sign in with Apple” will be mandatory for third-party apps that require sign-ins, according to these new App Store guidelines. That means apps that currently use Facebook or Google to sign in will also have to support “Sign in with Apple.”

“It will be required as an option for users in apps that support third-party sign-in when it is commercially available later this year,” the new guidelines say.

Apple is targeting Facebook with a new privacy feature in iOS 13 that privately logs users into third-party apps and services.

Called “Sign in with Apple,” it aims to replace popular cross-web login services like ones offered by Facebook and Google.

The new privacy feature prevents third-party apps and web services from tracking users via their logins. It creates private, disposable logins for every service or app.

Apple video beards the hairy issue of web privacy

By

The Safari web browser won’t let sites track you
The Safari web browser won’t let sites track you, whether you’re a man or a boy.
Photo: Apple

Apple is again using humor to get across a serious message. Its latest video has a young man using his iPhone to answer a personal question, and assures him that he isn’t being tracked while he’s doing so.

Watch it now:

Ads might not taint Apple’s TV service

By

Apple TV Close
Expect to binge watch Apple TV shows without commercial interruption.
Photo: Cult of Mac

TV shows and movies on Apple’s soon-to-be-announced streaming service might not be broken up by irritating commercial breaks. A new report indicates content will be either free or paid for entirely by subscription fees.

So you can expect to watch the upcoming shows staring Reese Witherspoon, Jason Momoa or many others without interruption.

Funny Apple video demos why iPhone privacy matters

By

Apple: Keep Out, privacy
You keep people out of your bedroom, You should keep them out of your phone too.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s latest video is a humorous take a serious topic. It reminds users of this company’s commitment to privacy with the tagline: “If privacy matters in your life, it should matter to the phone your life is on.”

Watch it now: