Consumers are increasingly demanding tech companies improve features to safeguard user data security and privacy. As modern and more advanced technology is integrated with smartphones, user privacy is at stake. Be it the advertisers and marketers using user data to advertise their products or the government using this for surveillance, consumer security is compromised. For this reason, the demand for improved features is increasing.
Well, Apple recently announced the launch of iPhone 15 and iOS 17 this fall. Users will be glad to know that Apple has announced a series of privacy features that will come packed in iOS 17. Some of these features include Lockdown mode, Safari Private Browsing, new permission protocols auto-delete verification codes, etc. In a nutshell, there is a lot in store for iPhone consumers.
Security and Privacy Features in iOS 17
Without any delay, let’s break some of these amazing features below:
The Lockdown Mode
Due to the increasing threat of spyware, there are certain sections of people who may be targeted more than others. For example, journalists can be attacked for what they do and what information they may hold. Apple’s lockdown mode may not be for everyone but for these people, it can be miraculous.
Well, this feature may render the phone useless when activated but it’s better to protect data from spyware. Media sharing, media handling, sandboxing, and safer network security optimization are included in this feature. Furthermore, the lockdown feature is also expanded to the paired Apple Watch, making the security more foolproof.
Once it is activated, the notifications will also be sent to the paired iPads and Macs to improve the end-to-end protection.
Check-In
This is a new security feature and will be especially helpful for youngsters who stay out at night. With this feature, the user can select contacts that will be notified when they get home after a night out. Also, you can set a time when you are expected to be home. The system can detect if you’re not home by that time and will also send you a message asking if everything is fine.
However, for this, it is required to have a constant internet connection at home, these days which is a necessity. We thus recommend an internet that provides consistent speed and reliability in their services. There is one option from one of the best in the area that is recommended by us, which is none other than Mediacom Internet, which provides the advertised speed and a consistent connection so you never have to be in a pinch when not at home about your check-in notifications and have a secure home.
In addition to this, if the system doesn’t receive any reply from you, those selected contacts will be sent a notification. Along with this, your precise location will also be sent to these contacts. This transaction will be protected by end-to-end encryption which means that no third party even Apple will receive this data.
Improved Sensitive Content Warnings
This feature was first introduced in 2021 with iOS 15.2. Apple has now improved this feature in iOS 17, which will be released in September 2023. Earlier, the communication protection feature detected highly sensitive content such as nudity in images in videos in iMessage. This was particularly to protect minors from exposure to explicit content.
Moreover, in iOS 17, this feature is expanded to AirDrop, contact posters in the list and FaceTime as well. You may think that this increases Apple’s access to user data, but this is not how this feature will work. The detection of this content will occur within the phone and no notification of any indication will leave the system. This makes Apple’s access to consumer data minimal.
Deletion of Verification Codes
Apple has introduced a feature that will now auto-delete the verification codes sent to the phone. OTPs (One-time passwords) are usually a safe way to ensure account privacy and security. But it is still advisable to delete them once they are used. It can be a burdensome task for users to delete these codes from iMessage and even WhatsApp.
But users don’t have to worry about it anymore, as the phone will automatically delete these codes once they’re no longer needed. Apple is a bit late to introduce this feature as the latest Android phones already have this. Once iOS 17 is introduced, users can go to Settings to Passwords to Password Options and enable the Clean Up automatically tab. This saves user time and increases the safety of multiple apps and accounts as well.
Safari Safety Features
Like the Incognito mode on Chrome, Apple Safari also offers private browsing. With iOS 17, this private browsing will be improved to protect users from embarrassing moments in case someone else is using the phone. Apple will automatically lock tabs on Safari for this. Users will be able to use fingerprint ID to unlock the tabs to ensure no one else gets access to them.
Another security feature on Safari will be Safari Advanced Tracking. This will help users to avoid trackers on URLs. These trackers can even reveal precise information like user location. To enable this, users can go to Settings to Advanced Tracking to Fingerprinting Protection. This can be applied to both, private and open browsing.
Conclusion
iPhone users will be relieved to know that the company has worked to improve the already present privacy features and introduce some new ones as well. Now, third-party intrusions into the user data and their browsing habits can be ensured.
Other than this, individual protection can also be ensured with features like Check-In. Overall, these features are amazing and consumers can make the most of them to enhance their privacy and security.