Privacy

Dozens of iOS apps caught quietly selling localization data to marketing firms

Bryan M. Wolfe ∙ Updated November 9, 2023

On the day Apple was forced to remove a popular app from the Mac App Store because it was sending user data to a Chinese server, comes word that dozens of popular iPhones apps are sharing location data of "tens of millions of mobile devices" with monetization firms. As uncovered by researchers at the GuardianApp Project, all of the apps identified collect user location data to work correctly, such as weather and fitness apps. In this case, they're using this received data to increase revenue.

Apple’s creating a portal for legal law enforcement user data requests

Bryan M. Wolfe ∙ September 6, 2018

To better handle data requests from law enforcement agencies, Apple plans on introducing a dedicated website for this purpose before the end of the year. This online portal will become the one-stop location law enforcement agencies worldwide can go to submit requests for data, track requests, and obtain responsive data from Apple. The company's plans were recently added to a government privacy page on the Apple website.

On its tenth anniversary, Chrome rolls out Material Design overhaul across platforms

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 5, 2018

Yesterday, Google's Chrome browser celebrated its tenth birthday by bringing a fresh new look and some new features to its mobile and desktop app, now bumped to version 69.

WhatsApp gains image and GIF previews in notifications, suspicious links feature & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 4, 2018

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is rolling out its notification extension support, as well as other improvements including Wallet support, a suspicious link feature and more.

Apple forces Facebook to pull Onavo VPN from App Store over improper data collection

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Facebook has pulled Onavo Protect from App Store, its virtual private networking (VPN) client for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple repeatedly told the social network that the app violated its data collection policies by using spyware-like practices.

How to use Skype’s end-to-end encrypted private conversations and calls

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 21, 2018

End-to-end encryption protects your sensitive Skype text messages, VoIP calls and more from eavesdropping. Here's what you need to know about setting up and using this optional feature, called Private Conversations, in Skype's iPhone, iPad and Mac app.

How to lock your Apple Notes and recover or change its password

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ Updated August 4, 2025

Learn how to protect your sensitive information by locking your notes on iPhone, iPad, and Mac to keep them safe from prying eyes.

Apple claims no customer data was exposed or compromised in Aussie hacking incident

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 17, 2018

Apple Friday denied the details of yesterday's report that an Australian schoolboy broke into its servers last year, downloaded 90GB of data and accessed customer accounts.

Teen broke into Apple’s servers, downloaded secure files & accessed user accounts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 19, 2018

When he was just 16 years old, a young Australian boy has managed to repeatedly break into Apple's servers and download about 90GB of “secure files”. Additionally, he reportedly accessed customer accounts and successfully obtained “authorized keys” as part of his offending.

IntelligentPass intelligently disables your passcode in low-risk environments

Anthony Bouchard ∙ August 15, 2018

Privacy and security are essential for most smartphone users, and that’s why Apple offers some of the best alphanumeric and biometric security measures in the industry. That aside, you don’t always need your smartphone to be secured like Fort Knox, and that’s where a new jailbreak tweak called IntelligentPass by iOS developer Luke Muris comes in handy.

Just as the name implies, IntelligentPass intelligently regulates your iPhone’s passcode (or another authentication method, such as Face ID or Touch ID) so that your handset only asks for it in specific user-configurable scenarios.

No Thumbnail keeps Camera Roll thumbnails from appearing in the Camera app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 30, 2018

Whenever you use your iPhone’s Camera app to snap photos or shoot video, a thumbnail preview displaying your most recent capture appears at the bottom-left of the interface. This small thumbnail means that anyone can glance over your shoulder and see the last thing you recorded.

If you’d rather keep your most recent photography endeavors to yourself, then you might be interested in a new free jailbreak tweak dubbed No Thumbnail by iOS developer Jbrownllama.

Protect your Camera Roll privacy with DontSwipe

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 25, 2018

While there are times that I enjoy showing photo(s) from my iPhone’s Camera Roll to the people around me, I always worry that someone might start swiping through the rest of my pictures if given a chance.

If you feel the same way, then you may want to take a look at a new free jailbreak tweak called DontSwipe by iOS developer SecondEight1, as it can lay your worries to rest.