iOS15: Apple continues privacy war with app tracker reports

Apple device users will now be able see when individual apps request to access features such as the microphone, camera and phone gallery, plus which third parties they have connected with in the last seven days.

The new “app privacy report” feature was unveiled at the firm’s annual developers’ conference, WWDC.

Apple has prioritised privacy lately, including a war on ad-tracking.

No new hardware was announced at the event, despite earlier speculation.

The new privacy report goes further than Apple’s existing “nutrition labels” which show users what kinds of permissions apps ask for, before they are installed.

It will allow users to dive deep into when exactly an app used the permissions it has been given – and what third-party websites it contacted or sent data to.

“Apple continues to double down on privacy,” said Thomas Husson, analyst at Forrester.

“In this area, no doubt Apple is leading the pack and setting the tone for the rest of the industry.”

Other privacy-focused updates included:

However a previous move by the tech giant to offer its customers a choice over whether to accept tracking for the purposes of advertising were criticised by a number of firms, including Facebook and other free-to-use services, for which ad tracking is a rich source of revenue.

The firm also showed off a raft of updates to its Facetime video calling platform, some of which appear to compete with apps such as Zoom which exploded in popularity during the pandemic.

They include a gallery mode to view multiple speakers, a portrait mode with blurred backgrounds, and the ability to schedule Facetime calls and create web links.

This will also enable Android and Windows PC users to join calls, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said. Until now, the platform has only worked between Apple devices.

The new features form part of its latest operating system, iOS15.

“Allowing Apple owners to invite Android and PC users to FaceTime calls via a browser acknowledges the pandemic has sparked explosive growth in group video calling,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight.

“Apple risked being left behind services such as Teams and Zoom – but browser-based calling won’t be enough to close the gap.”

Digital keys are coming to Apple Wallet, announced the firm’s Jennifer Bailey.

Car firm BMW and hotel chain Hyatt will be among the first to offer digital keys – and it will also be available for homes.

In some US states, iPhone users will also be able to store their State ID and driving licences, with the Transportation Security Administration lined up to be among the first to be able to use it, said Ms Bailey.

The health app can now track walking steadiness and issue alerts if a user appears less steady , along with exercise suggestions as to how it might improve.

Apple also enabled health app data sharing with doctors, and between family members. The encrypted data is not visible to the tech giant, it stressed.

However, there may be a cultural barrier to overcome here, said Ben Wood.

“The ability to share health data with other family members looks an interesting idea on paper, but it is hard to see that many parents would want to share updates with their children,” he said.

There may, for example, be a number of reasons why a person’s heart rate increases which are not medical emergencies.