DECEMBER 2021 MACWORLD 87Lockdown
Privacy is a free
firewall that
blocks trackers
of all sorts.You could also opt for third-party email
software that has different image-loading
options. For instance, if you use Postbox
(fave.co/3GKs4AT) in macOS, you can
disable the loading of all remote images
and then use controls in a message to
allow images to load from specific
domains and subdomains. (I use an
ancient mail app that is text-only—it can’t
load images at all—but it requires Mojave
and earlier.)
There’s a more comprehensive option,
too, which is to subscribe to a firewall VPN
service designed to block tracking and
protect privacy. Guardian Firewall and VPN
(fave.co/3nPgPyA) for iOS and iPadOS
collects no data from its customers per the
App Store disclosure, and blocks trackers
in email, within apps, and on websites. It’s
$0.99 a day, $9.99 a month, or $99.99 per
year for up to five devices using the same
iCloud account, and it also acts as well as
a VPN for local network protection.
Postbox offers granular selection of which domains you allow
images to load from.
Lockdown Privacy
(fave.co/3GJZShK) offers
software for iOS, iPadOS
and macOS, and has a
free firewall that blocks
trackers of all sorts,
including those used in
email messages. The
company hasn’t updated
its apps since Apple
required new privacy
disclosures in the App Store, but the firm
states that the firewall collects no
information. A VPN add-on from the same
company (fave.co/3GJ3JeO) requires a
paid subscription that starts at $4.99 per
month for iOS and iPadOS and $9.99 for
desktop and mobile platforms together,
but it’s not required. ■