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#TECH: Apple strengthens privacy features to protect users' data

THE internet has been a blessing to us, giving us access to almost everything, as well as making lives easier. However, while we enjoy its usage, do you know that over the past decade, a large and opaque industry has been amassing increasing amounts of personal data.

A complex ecosystem of websites, apps, social media companies, data brokers, and ad tech firms track users online and offline, harvesting their personal data. This data is pieced together, shared, aggregated, and used in real-time auctions, representing a US$227 billion-a-year industry. This occurs everyday, as people go about their daily lives, often without their knowledge or permission.

In its efforts to help users protect their privacy and data from being stolen and sold in underground markets, Apple has launched a new worldwide ad campaign further emphasises the company's focus on privacy. This time, Apple is taking on the topic of data brokers with a new ad called "Privacy on iPhone." In addition to a 90-second ad that will run on social media and YouTube, Apple is also running billboards and other forms of advertising prompting "Privacy on iPhone".

In its new privacy campaign video, Apple shows how our stolen data is being auctioned by data brokers. The focus is on how companies collect these data from users and then sell them to third-parties for advertising.

In addressing this, Apple shows how its features built-in to iOS such as App Tracking Transparency, App Privacy Report, and Mail

Privacy Protection can help protect users from. Being victims of these data thieves and brokers.

In the video campaign, one can see how Ellie, a character of a victim, learns about the different types of her data being sold.

Now iOS and iPadOS you can see a report information about each app's network activity and website network activity, as well as the web domains that all apps contact most frequently by viewing the App Privacy Report in Settings.

In addition to that, with iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2, you can turn on App Privacy Report to see details about how often apps access their data, location, camera, microphone, and more.

You can also see information about each app's network activity and website network activity, as well as the web domains that all apps contact most frequently. Together with Privacy Nutrition Labels, App Privacy Report helps give users a more complete picture of how the apps you use treat their data.

And for the web, Safari Privacy Report lets you see who's been blocked from tracking you when you visit a website. The feature also allow you to see who's been blocked from tracking you when you visit a website.

For a Privacy Report that shows a list of known trackers who've been blocked from tracking you, choose Safari > Privacy Report.

Mail privacy

In the video, one can see the Auctioneer selling Ellie's emails, including "one's she's opened."

Ellie then turns on Mail Privacy Protection. This feature for the Mail app on Mac, iPhone and iPad prevents email senders from learning your information, such as when and how many times you view an email, whether you forward it, your IP address, and other data.

Another example that shows the privacy protection feature is with Apple Pay, which is still not available in Malaysia.

The Auctioneer sells Ellie's "drug store purchases." The video shows with Apple Pay, Apple doesn't track what you're buying, so it can't build a purchase history to serve you ads.

Besides that, Apple doesn't store or have access to the original credit, debit, or prepaid card numbers that you use with Apple Pay.

Location services

On iOS and iPadOS, Location Services privacy controls are a powerful way to manage which apps have access to your location. You can choose to grant an app access to your location once or anytime you use it. You can also choose whether apps can see your approximate location — within an area of about 10 square miles — rather than your exact location.

The video also shows how the Auctioneer sells Ellie's "contacts". Users can control which apps have access to your contacts.

On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Security & Privacy , then click Privacy. Select Contacts. Select the checkbox next to an app to allow it to access your contacts. Deselect the checkbox to turn off access for that app.

On iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Privacy > Contacts.

The Auctioneer also sells Ellie's "browsing history."

With Intelligent Tracking Prevention in Safari, trackers are blocked from following you across the web. Intelligent Tracking Prevention is on by default.

With watchOS, iOS, and iPadOS, your messages are encrypted on your device so they can't be accessed without your passcode. iMessage and FaceTime are designed so that there's no way for Apple or anyone else to read your messages when they're in transit between devices.

App tracking

The App Tracking Transparency allows you to choose whether an app can track your activity across other companies' apps and websites for the purposes of advertising or sharing with data brokers.

With iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and tvOS 14.5, apps must ask for permission before tracking your activity across other companies' apps and websites. Tracking occurs when information that identifies you or your device collected from an app is linked with information that identifies you or your device collected on apps, websites and other locations owned by third parties for the purposes of targeted advertising or advertising measurement, or when the information collected is shared with data brokers.

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