We reported yesterday that Apple is introducing a new privacy feature.
It came in form of a new Privacy icon that appears when an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV app or a system service wants to use your personal information.
The iOS 11.3, tvOS 11.3 and macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 betas show a new screen during setup advertising this new Privacy icon, and now we have a better idea how it works.
If your iPhone is on the iOS 11.3 beta, open the Activity app and tap the Sharing tab in the bottom-right corner. The Activity Sharing splash screen will pop up like with prior iOS editions.
However, you’ll also see a Privacy icon and a link ”See how your data is managed”.
Tapping it opens an explainer laying out how your Activity data is being collected, managed and used by the company in terms of sharing your activity with a friend. You can either tap Done to dismiss the screen or scroll down to the bottom and hit a Learn More link.
The Learn More link brings up the Privacy icon splash screen along with the list of system features and apps that may use your personal information. Select any feature from the list to get a detailed breakdown of Apple’s data collection.
Apple says it won’t display this new icon every time an app wants to use your personal data.
It won’t appear for things like camera, contact, calendar, motion data access and more—Apple already provides standard system dialogs that third-party apps are required to call as an Apple-sanctioned way of obtaining user permission to use those features.
Bottom line: you’ll only see the new Privacy when an Apple app or service is collecting your personal information, and only when it’s needed to enable features or to secure Apple’s services or to personalize your experience, according to the company.
What do you think of this new privacy feature?
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