iOS 14: The New Standard Of Digital Privacy

"Privacy is not an option, and it shouldn't be the price we accept for just getting on the internet."                                                                       -Gary Kovacs

The 21st Century is referred to as the digital age. Countless bytes of data are being transferred around the world every second. In this transfer of the countless amount of data, the safety of the netizens is often at risk. The development of new encryption software has reduced these attacks a lot but what if I told you we are still not safe. This danger does not come from hackers or phishing scams but from the most used applications worldwide. These companies have been taking our private and sensitive information for a very long time and using it to make huge profits by targeted advertisements.  

Apple Inc. has always been working on the protection of its users since its inception. It has always made it a priority to keep our data private. It is also seen in their interviews from time to time. Tim Cook once in an interview with Business Insider said " You are not our product. Our products are iPhones and iPads. We treasure your data. We wanna help you keep it private and keep it safe." Even though Android is working round the clock to overcome its security vulnerabilities but it still has a long way to go. 

The recent conclusion of the WWDC 2020, an event organised by Apple to showcase its new developments just made it more clear why privacy is the most important aspect of every Apple product you purchase. The new features that are about to come with iOS 14 just put user data protection of Apple devices miles ahead of their Android counterpart. Let's have a look at the new privacy features coming with iOS 14.

Local Network Permission

In the times of Covid-19, Wi-Fi has become absolutely necessary, whether to attend Zoom meetings or just to Netflix and chill. Since the advent of the smart ecosystem around us, everything in our house from televisions, fridge and even smart bulbs require a Wi-Fi to be inter-connected and function properly. This amalgamation of devices connected to our Wi-Fi is termed a Local Network.

 Many famous apps such as Facebook, PUBG, and even YouTube connect to the local network by default on Android and can access information on other devices. Just guess how much data they have accumulated by spying on us.

This problem has been solved by Apple brilliantly by incorporating a simple pop-up asking whether you want to grant the local network permission or not. Hit "Do not allow" and all the applications still work seamlessly. 

Camera & Mic Indicators

Many times we wonder how we were just talking about something and suddenly an advertisement appears about it out of nowhere. There is also a conspiracy theory that apps listen to and record what we talk about even when we are not using them. Android has features too that show whether the camera or mic has been activated but they do not work when the device is locked.

Apple went a step further and added a digital notification dot whenever any of the two is accessed. It uses a green dot for whenever the camera is turned on and an orange for the mic. So now we all can know whether or not an app is spying on us for sure and put a full stop to conspiracy theories.

 

Selective Permission for Photos

While using photo and video editing tool Snapseed or PicsArt in Android by default the access to the whole library of photos and videos is given to the app whereas only a few photos are required. In iOS 14, this problem has been addressed by simply adding a new option that only gives access to the required files. Now you can achieve mind-blowing photos for your social handle without compromising on your data.

Approximate Location

Under this new option, the apps will not be able to take a pinpoint location of the user without their permission. It is perfect for apps like local news or weather. This happens by just turning the precise option off and it gives away a much broader area of location. Since food delivery and taxi apps require a pinpoint location the precise location can be turned on from the settings.

Notifications Showing Access 

Control Center has now been modified to show notifications to show us whenever an app accesses our camera or mic. It also shows notifications whenever the clipboard is accessed by an app. This feature is very handy as many times sensitive information is present on the clipboard which can be removed.

New Safari Features

New cryptographic techniques have been employed to check derivations of our password against a list of breached password privately and securely that does not reveal the password information to Apple. 

Apart from this privacy report has also been added to check how websites treat our privacy. 

Privacy Information on App Store

Now information related to the privacy concerns of every application is present on the App Store. Users can now check beforehand if there are any vulnerabilities and avoid downloading the app.

The addition of these new features is a great milestone in assuring a user's privacy and a wake-up call for the officials at Google to up their game.

Hope you liked my detailed analysis of the upcoming features of iOS 14. Comment below if I missed something important or for suggestions. Do share this article with your friends and family to help them make a sound choice in purchasing their next device.