Apple's Revamped Privacy Site Highlights 'Everyday Apps, Designed for Your Privacy'

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Apple today announced an update to its privacy website that touches on various new privacy benefits found in iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, and more. Apple's updated website includes white papers on how the company approaches privacy in Safari, Sign in with Apple, Location Services, and Photos, providing visitors with a deeper insight into the company's privacy mission.


The website reinforces Apple's four core privacy principles: minimizing the data collected from users, processing the data on the device when possible, transparency when collecting data and how it's used, and strong device encryption. You can visit the website for yourself at Apple.com/privacy, which is now highlighting iOS apps like Maps, ‌Photos‌, and Messages, and how they each enhance iPhone users' privacy.

According to Apple, there are multiple recent privacy and security innovations that it has accomplished with its latest software updates:

• Contacts: Any notes stored in the notes section of the Contacts app will not be shared with third party applications when they are granted access to the Contacts app.
  
• Find My: Apple uses end-to-end encryption to communicate with other Apple devices nearby in order to find lost iPhones and Macs, ensuring that it doesn't know the location of the device or the identity of the device that discovered it.
  
• Arcade: No advertising or third-party tracking is ever permitted.
  
• Background tracking notifications: iPhone owners now get notifications when apps are using their location in the background, providing them with a chance to turn this feature off.

You can click on different tabs on the website to view the new white papers for services like Safari, Face ID, Location Services, and more. While the website itself remains a straightforward look at how Apple handles user data, each white paper offers a more nuanced dive into specific programs and services at Apple, and how the company is aiming to enhance privacy with every new update.

The site also includes a tab for its transparency reports, showcasing how Apple is committed to being transparent about responding to government requests for user data around the world. Here you can scroll through each region to see how often Apple has shared user data with the local government, beginning as far back as 2013 and stretching to 2018.

Tag: privacy

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U.S. Veterans Can Now Use Apple's Health Records Feature

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Apple today announced that its partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to roll out access to the Health Records feature for iPhone has launched, with veterans who receive care through the VA now able to access their information right in the Health app on iOS.

“Helping veterans gain a better understanding of their health is our chance to show our gratitude for their service,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “By working with the VA to offer Health Records on iPhone, we hope to help those who served have greater peace of mind that their health care is in good hands.”

Apple announced the initiative back in February, but it's taken a number of months to get everything in place to launch it to country's largest medical system covering over 9 million veterans at over 1,200 medical facilities.

Tag: Apple Health Records

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FCC Formally Approves Merger of T-Mobile and Sprint

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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday formally approved the $26 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The approval was the last regulatory hurdle to creating a new mobile carrier.


The FCC filing means T-Mobile and Sprint will be allowed to join together as "New T-Mobile" to become a dominant third carrier in the United States alongside Verizon and AT&T. The Department of Justice approved the merger in July.

The finalized order came after a 3-2 vote along partisan lines, with both Democrats against it. FCC boss Ajit Pai said in a statement that the merger would be good for consumers and the U.S. as a whole:

"It would bring the benefits of the next generation of wireless technology to American consumers and advance American leadership in 5G. It would help millions in rural America benefit from high-speed 5G mobile broadband service... and it would promote competition."

However, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel argued that the consolidation of the two companies would likely follow the same path as previous mergers had, leading to higher prices, fewer jobs, and poorer service for the majority of customers:

"We've all seen what happens when market concentration increases following a merger. A condensed airline industry brought us baggage fees and smaller seats, even as the price of fuel fell. A condensed pharmaceutical industry has led to a handful of drug companies raising the prices of lifesaving medications, taking advantage of those struggling with illness. There's no reason to think the mobile-phone industry will be different."

Together, the two companies have committed to building out a nationwide 5G network covering 97 percent of the U.S. population within three years and 99 percent within six years. T-Mobile and Sprint have also promised that they will not raise prices for three years following the completion of the merger.

In an attempt to ensure a competitive wireless carrier market, the FFC also wants to see Dish become the fourth nationwide facilities-based wireless carrier in the United States. Dish has announced that it plans to deploy a 5G broadband network capable of serving 70 percent of the U.S. population by June 2023.

In 2011, regulators blocked AT&T's attempted acquisition of T-Mobile. In 2014, they blocked an attempted merger between Sprint and T-Mobile. This past July, however, the Department of Justice approved the merger.

A number of states have filed an antitrust lawsuit in U.S. federal court to block the proposed transaction; that lawsuit remains on the docket and must be resolved before the merger can go forward.

T-Mobile and Sprint anticipate that the merger will be permitted to close by the end of the year. If it does go ahead, it will combine two of the four major wireless carriers in the United States, giving the new company nearly 100 million customers.

Tags: Sprint, T-Mobile, FCC

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