Last month, Apple announced several important new privacy features as part of their new operating system for iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers. iOS15 does even more to help you manage your data on your devices and stop companies from snooping on you, including:
- iCloud Private Relay: Anonymize your web browsing activity, similar to a virtual private network (VPN)
- Mail Privacy Protection: Stop email marketers from tracking when you open and read messages
- Record App Activity: Keep an eye on how different apps are accessing your iPhone/iPad features (like microphone or camera) and what websites they’re sending data to
These are fantastic new privacy features, and all of us who love our Apple devices should definitely take full advantage of their benefits.
But the privacy protection isn’t absolute. Be aware of these gaps:
- If you don’t have an Apple device, you won’t see any benefits. Only Apple customers can take advantage.
- If you don’t activate these features, you won’t see any benefits. (They’re off by default, until you turn them on yourself!)
- If you only use an Apple device some of the time, you’ll only receive this enhanced privacy protection while you actually use your iPhone, your iPad, or your Mac—not while you’re using your PC or your Android phone.
- If you intentionally sign up with a new service and share your data, these features won't protect you. Apple's new privacy tools only clamp down on the inadvertent sharing of your data. But once you register with a new website or make a new purchase, you're giving permission for those businesses to use your personal info. Many of them may sell that data or buy additional data to enrich what they've already collected, in order to construct a fuller profile about you.
- Apple's privacy protection is only forward-looking. All that data you’ve exposed over thousands of hours you’ve used the internet over the past years? It’s still out there.
In short, you should think about these new Apple features as an important tool, but just part of your overall privacy toolbox.
To take back control of all the personal data that’s still being bought and sold without your permission, we encourage you to sign up with Confidently: We’ll stop hundreds of companies from selling your data, delete it from companies that shouldn’t have it, and monitor the dark web to alert you to data breaches. And we’ll keep you in control of your data in the weeks and months ahead.
Fewer data breaches. Less phone & email spam. Greater peace of mind. More control of your personal data privacy.
Let Confidently help you close your “privacy gaps”—even after you’ve taken full advantage of all the new privacy protection that iOS15 provides.
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