Along with the software and hardware announcements at WWDC, Apple executive Craig Federighi highlighted the company’s ongoing commitment to privacy, exemplified by features like “Check In,” and why he thinks AI could be beneficial to users .
Apple is introducing new privacy and security features
Apple has previewed its mix-reality headset and subsequent iterations of its operating systems, which include iOS and iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, watchOS 10 and macOS 14 Sonoma. In an interview with Fast companyCraig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, discussed the new privacy features in iOS 17.
iOS 17
One feature, Check In, allows iPhone users to choose specific contacts who will receive automatic notifications when the user returns home after a night out, providing a sense of reassurance. However, if the Check-In feature detects that your progress is not as expected, it will contact you to ensure your well-being.
If the user doesn’t respond, Check In will send a message to the selected contacts containing the user’s precise location, cellular service status, their iPhone’s battery level, and the timestamp of the last iPhone activity. This information could be crucial in locating the user if something unfortunate happened.
“There are so many people who have said [they] they feel a little insecure when they come home after dinner, walking from the library to the dormitory,” Federighi said. Check-in is a way “to provide a certain level of comfort and security to a large number of people.”
Next, Apple is hardening Lockdown Mode, a feature added in iOS 16 to protect specific users from ongoing malware attacks. This feature is coming to watchOS 10, and Apple is tightening the lock mode by preventing the iPhone from connecting to 2G cellular networks and automatically joining unsecure wireless networks.
“With blocking mode, we can shut down most of the access to those surfaces,” Federighi said, making attacks “much more expensive” to perform “and much less likely to succeed.”
Artificial intelligence
Federighi was also asked about the rise of artificial intelligence tools, particularly regarding privacy and security.
“There is no doubt that AI-powered tools will get better and better at identifying potential security flaws and exploitation paths,” Federighi said. “The good news is that these tools can be used by those looking to harden their code and protect users, as well as those who will attempt to exploit them.”
However, from the point of view of privacy and security, what worries Federighi is the human factor. He expresses particular concern about the growing prevalence of deepfakes, which are AI-generated audio and video that can create the illusion that someone is saying or doing things he didn’t.
As AI tools become more readily available in the future, deep fakes could be used more frequently in social engineering attacks. In these attacks, the attacker tricks the victim into believing that he is interacting with someone else to manipulate them into divulging valuable information.
Confidentiality
Apple is rolling out a variety of privacy and security improvements to its platforms this year, including iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and macOS Sonoma. These improvements are diverse and extensive.
For example, link tracking protection is available in Messages, Mail, and Private Browsing in Safari. This feature eliminates add-ons added to a URL by marketers and websites, commonly used to track a user’s online activity across different platforms.
Apple is introducing sensitive content warnings for adult users as well. This feature fixes a common issue where people receive unsolicited photos containing inappropriate content via AirDrop in public settings.
With the new feature, when a user’s device detects that a photo may contain nudity, the media content will automatically be hidden. The image will be blacked out by default, but users can view it if they wish.
Passwords and passkeys
Later, Apple is expanding the functionality for passwords and passkeys. The first is sharing passwords and passkeys.
Now iPhone, iPad and Mac users can securely share passwords and passkeys with select people without exposing the actual password in the message. Also, when sharing a password-protected account, the recipient will receive the real-time synchronized two-factor authentication code, if applicable, enhancing account security.
The other feature lies in the phone calls. When a caller leaves a voice message, the transcript of the message will automatically appear in real time on the lock screen of a person’s device while the caller is recording it.
This allows users to read the voicemail as it is left. Then, if they want to talk to the caller, they can answer the live call. It also allows users to quickly identify if the voicemail is from a marketer, allowing them to ignore or block it without delay.
Safari
Finally, Federighi says new privacy features are coming to Safari with Private Browsing. One feature is the automatic locking of private browsing tabs when inactive.
This feature will prove to be exceptionally useful for people who work in environments where they may leave their desks temporarily. Once done, Safari’s private browsing tabs will automatically lock and remain in that state until the user authenticates using Touch ID or their Mac’s password to unlock them again.
“I’m excited about the things we’re doing in Safari,” Federighi says, “because Safari was a somewhat unknown pioneer in private browsing and so many privacy and security features, and this year is just a tour de force” .
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