Privacy

macOS Sierra preview: Auto Unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 25, 2023

Auto Unlock, a new feature in macOS Sierra, gives you instant access to your Mac when you’re wearing an Apple Watch. As its marketing name suggest, Auto Unlock is seamless. You simply wake your Mac from sleep while wearing your watch, and boom—just like that, you’re logged in and ready to go, no password typing required. Here's our entertaining video walkthrough of Auto Unlock and a detailed overview of the feature for those interested in its inner workings and intricacies.

Has Apple gone mad? More iOS 10 parts left unencrypted in beta 2

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 6, 2016

As you know, security experts were baffled realizing that the iOS 10 kernel in beta 1 was not encrypted. Apple argued it was no big deal because the kernel contained no user data so the company had left it unencrypted intentionally in order to increase general system performance, in their own words.

But Apple didn't stop there.

As first discovered by prominent jailbreak developer and iPhone hacker, MuscleNerd, iOS 10 beta 2 actually leaves more parts of the operating system unencrypted.

What's going on here?

iOS 10 tidbit: unlocking iPhone and iPad without launching Home screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 5, 2016

As we wrote before, iOS 10 changes the way unlocking your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch works. For starters, iOS 10 does away with the familiar slide-to-unlock gesture so instead of “Slide to Unlock”, which now takes you to a dedicated widgets screen, you get to see a new “Press Home to unlock” message on the Lock screen.

As a result, unlocking a Touch ID-outfitted iOS device now requires you to press the Home button rather than rest your finger on it, like in prior editions of the software. But as it turns out, iOS 10 gives users another, previously unavailable option for unlocking their device without automatically launching the Home screen.

Clearing your search history from the Instagram app

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 17, 2018

Instagram users who search for things frequently leave a trail behind that shows everything they've searched for, and to some who are used to hiding their tracks, this could be considered a privacy concern.

If you want to clear your search history from the Instagram app on your iPhone or iPod touch, then follow along as we take you through the simple steps to do so in this tutorial.

Apple likes the fact that the prices for iPhone vulnerabilities are high

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 4, 2016

In order to gain access to San Bernardino shooter's iPhone 5c beyond the Lock screen, the United States government eventually had to pay through the nose to a third-party to exploit a little-known iOS vulnerability and break into the device. According to FBI director James Comey, the agency paid at least $1.3 million for the hack.

Analyzing the black market for so-called zero-day iPhone vulnerabilities, a top Apple security engineer is actually pleased by the fact that they command steep prices because it means they're rare and difficult to pull off, Business Insider reported Monday.

New Chinese regulations would have Apple track App Store users and developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 7, 2017

After ordering an iPhone 6 sales ban over alleged copyright infringement and shuttering the iBooks Store and iTunes Movies, Chinese regulators are now applying increased pressure on foreign technology companies doing business in the world's most populous market of 1.35 billion people.

According to Bloomberg, firms like Apple that operate app stores in the country will be forced to track the identities of users and developers with real-name registration in case they violate the country's stringent censorship laws.

A closer look at Differential Privacy in iOS 10 and macOS Sierra

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 25, 2016

Making Apple services even smarter and more personalized entails processing troves of information because intelligence is driven by big data. The fact that iOS 9's proactive features don't tap into the cloud has served Apple well thus far. But since Google Assistant came to light, people have been wondering if Apple can compete without resorting to raw data collection Google is infamous for.

iOS 10 and macOS Sierra represent Apple's refined approach to privacy, which revolves around new techniques collectively known as Differential Privacy. An en vogue statistical method, Differential Privacy helps Apple deliver smarter services without compromising privacy of their users.

It's a relatively unproven technique with lots of potential which hasn’t been used to boost Apple's services before iOS 10 and macOS Sierra. Here's a closer look at Differential Privacy, how it powers intelligence and proactiveness and why it should serve Apple better than Google's bulk data collection and analysis.

Apple confirms its new Differential Privacy feature will be opt-in only

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 28, 2017

iOS 10 and macOS Sierra tap into an interesting technology, called Differential Privacy, which makes possible data collection from a large number of users without compromising individual user's security and privacy. Re/code has now learned from Apple that Differential Privacy will be opt-in only, meaning privacy-minded folks won't be required to use the feature unless they specifically want to.

Bottom line: Apple won’t collect your data to make its services a lot smarter unless you specifically let it.

Apple explains why iOS 10 kernel is unencrypted

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2016

Following the discovery by MIT Technology Review that the kernel in iOS 10 beta is unencrypted, Apple has gone on the record to explain why that's the case. Speaking with Dave Mark of The Loop, an Apple spokesperson has officially confirmed that the decision was intentional.

Now, some security experts speculated that leaving the iOS 10 kernel unencrypted would aid anyone, nefarious users included, looking for security weaknesses in the iOS software.

Apple explains why such fears are unfounded.

iOS 10 beta kernel is unencrypted, but why?

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 22, 2016

MIT Technology Review has discovered that the kernel in iOS 10 beta is unencrypted, making it a lot easier for technology-minded users, jailbreak developers and the like to take a peek under iOS's hood and pinpoint any potential vulnerabilities.

For those wondering, kernels in all prior iOS betas used to be encrypted. Is this a bold move meant to help strengthen security in iOS 10 or will this decision actually introduce further security risks and open new attack vectors for hackers to exploit?

iOS 10 tidbit: apps now must seek permission before accessing your music library

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 15, 2016

Apple has made some changes to how iOS handles apps that wish to access users' music libraries, with iOS 10 now requiring your explicit permission before any app is allowed to interact with your music.

This new safeguard increases your privacy while ensuring that no app can silently analyze what's in your music library without you knowing it. Additionally, it makes it more difficult, if not downright impossible, for apps to potentially upload your music library to the cloud in order build a profile of your musical tastes for advertising purposes.

Google’s My Account webpage rolls out Find My iPhone-like features

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 1, 2016

Apple has Find My iPhone and now Google has something called Find Your phone. As announced in a blog post Wednesday, the new feature can be used to find lost devices.

In addition to locating your device directly from Google's recently redesigned My Account page, you can now simply say in the mobile Google app, “OK Google, show me my Google Account”. Soon, you'll also be able to search Google for “I lost my phone”.