A new regular format for privacy details makes
apps’ data usage easier to assess.APP PRIVACY
In a world of dodgy data brokers
and invasive algorithms, Apple has
chosen to align its commercial
interests with your privacy. Its next
round of OS upgrades puts more
barriers between third parties and
your info and helps you make
informed choices about permissions.
Although it’s less visible than in
macOS, tucked away in the menu to
the left of the URL/search bar, Safari
in iOS 14 gives you the same Privacy
Report option to show tracking code
embedded in websites, which can beautomatically blocked. You’re also
warned if any passwords you’ve
stored are among those exposed by
third parties in recent breaches.
In the App Store, every app is
now required to explain how it’ll use
any personal data it accesses, if you
allow it to do so. And when enabling
Location Services, you can opt to
share only your rough location. A
new recording indicator appears at
the top of the screen when any app
uses your camera or mic, and you can
check recent usage in Control Center.MESSAGES
Apple’s iMessage platform is
now an even more versatile and
practical way to communicate
— at least with other Apple
users, the only ones who can
participate in any of the fancy
functions beyond swapping basic
texts and pictures.
You can now pin up to nine
of your most important
conversations to the top of
your list, where they appear
as a labelled avatar. Group
conversations get their own
photo, emoji or Memoji icon,
and active participants appear
as tiny satellite avatars. Within
a group conversation, you can
reply directly to a message,
creating a thread that can be
viewed separately, or type
someone’s name to “mention”
someone. Opting to get
notifications only for mentions
is a new way to avoid annoying
group chat overload.Image rights: Apple.
Feature
26 SEP 2020 maclife.com