| Cult of Mac

Apple cracks down on apps that use device fingerprinting to track users

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iPhone Device Fingerprinting
Just like you have fingerprints, your iPhone can have a device fingerprint.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple warned all App Store developers that it’s starting a crackdown on using device fingerprinting for user tracking.

As a means of preventing this invasive tracking, Apple will soon require devs to justify the inclusion of all APIs in software submitted to the App Store.

How to improve security in Safari Private Browsing with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma

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How to make Safari Private Browsing much more private
Safari Private Browsing mode will soon get multiple new features to prevent online tracking.
Photo: Killian Bell/Ed Hardy
WWDC23

Private Browsing mode in Apple Safari will soon get even more secure. It’ll be locked against someone else accessing it, and incorporate new tools to prevent websites from tracking users.

The additional privacy features are coming in iOS 17, macOS Sonoma and iPadOS 17, all of which were unveiled at WWDC23 this week.

Safari 17 in macOS Sonoma beefs up user privacy

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Enhanced Private Browsing helps protect against online trackers as well as folks who gain access to your computer.
Enhanced Private Browsing helps protect against online trackers as well as folks who gain access to your computer.
Photo: Apple
WWDC23

Along with macOS Sonoma and its new features will come Safari 17, the new iteration of Apple’s web browser. It brings an enhanced browsing experience with an even greater emphasis than before on privacy, and most changes will probably apply to iOS and iPadOS, as well.

The changes aren’t terribly glamorous, but beefed-up Private Browsing protects against prying eyes online and off, in addition to some other security enhancements.

And in terms of organization, the new Profiles feature helps you keep separate parts of your life separate and website apps keep your favorite sites at your fingertips.

Get your fair share of Facebook’s $725 million privacy payout

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You owe me, like, a dollar!
That’s a Futurama reference.
Image: Flying Logos/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

If you lived in the United States in the last 15 years and you used Facebook, you can fill out a brief form and claim your part of a $725 million privacy settlement. This marks the end of a class-action lawsuit wherein the company admitted that U.K. data mining company Cambridge Analytica accessed Facebook users’ data without their consent.

You have until Friday, August 25, to file a claim. It only takes a few minutes. How much you get depends on how many people take the payment — it could be as low as $1.50 if every person in the United States fills it out.

Making a claim also stops you from pursuing a separate claim against Meta, Facebook’s parent company. However, if you take no action, you won’t get anything as a result of the Facebook data scandal.

Fix the mess caused by Sign in with Apple and Hide My Email

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Silence the spam
Apple’s privacy-focused features in Mail are really handy at keeping spam at bay, but you might still need to find that secret email address or delete an account after a while.
Image: Ascánder/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

I always use Apple’s privacy-focused Sign in with Apple and Hide My Email services whenever I get the option.

The Sign in with Apple feature, which lets you log into third-party accounts using your Apple ID while keeping your personal info private, is so easy to use that I utilize it everywhere. But that also means my disguised logins pile up, accumulating in the digital junk drawer that is iCloud Settings.

I’ll show you where you can find, manage or delete these accounts. Perhaps you’re jumping ship from iPhone to Android, and you want to make sure you still have another way of signing into your Chipotle account.

The Hide My Email service is similar. It creates a temporary email address that forwards to your real one — handy if you’re signing up for a shady website, or if you need a public contact email. I’ll show you where you can create new ones and delete the old ones.

Learn to protect your kids online with a free class from Apple

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Child with iPad
iPad and iPhone have free tools to help protects kids online. Apple offers a class on how to use them.
Photo: Apple

February 7 is Safer Internet Day, and parents can take part by signing up for Apple’s “Your Kids and Their Devices” class. it shows parents how to maintain the online privacy of children who use iPhone or iPad.

The class is free and available online or in person around the world.

No, Apple isn’t spying on the files in your Mac

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MacBook Pro with cryptographic nonsense on the display
Is Apple spying on your private files? Betteridge’s Law prevails once again.
Photo: mikemacmarketing/Wikimedia Commons

Claims that Apple is phoning home to analyze every image on your Mac have been proven false. Jeffrey Paul, security researcher and consultant, claimed early last week that his Mac was sending small bits of data to Apple every time he clicked on an image on his computer.

After Paul’s claims caused a bit of a stir, researchers got to the bottom of what was actually happening. Not only did they conclude the network activity was innocent — it was caused by a bug that’s already been patched in the latest macOS update.

Ted Lasso star puts human face on privacy in new Apple video

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Actor Nick Muhammed -- aka Nate on
Actor Nick Muhammed -- aka Nate on "Ted Lasso" -- makes learning about iPhone privacy features fun.
Photo: Apple

Marking Data Privacy Day on Tuesday, Apple introduced new educational resources meant to help users take better control of their data, including a whimsical short film starring one of Ted Lasso‘s popular cast members.

The video, a new Today at Apple Session and Cupertino’s added statements on its ongoing security efforts come amid ever-rising cyberattacks and about a month after the company released Advanced Data Protection.

How to make iCloud more secure with Advanced Data Protection

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You now have the option to have more of your iCloud files encrypted, including images. Here's how.
The latest versions of Apple's operating systems give you the option to encrypt more of your iCloud files, including images.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple recently added end-to-end encryption for more types of iCloud data. Now, you can turn on Advanced Data Protection to encrypt iCloud Photos, Notes and more. Activating this new security feature is easy … once you find the switch buried in Settings.

We can save you some time. Here’s how and why you should activate it.