Apple iOS 14 comes with a cool but hidden feature that could be a game-changer for iPhone user privacy.
Apple iOS 14 comes with a cool but hidden feature that could be a game-changer for iPhone privacy.
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesApple’s iOS 14 is due to launch very soon, with a bunch of cool new privacy features that are going to be truly game-changing for iPhone users. But one of the most major privacy features in iOS 14 is actually rather hidden, despite the fact it could be a momentous leap for location privacy.
The new iOS 14 feature comes in the form of technology that gives you better control over whether you reveal your precise location to apps and services. In simple terms, this allows you to choose to give services such as weather apps your approximate location, without revealing exactly where you are.
It’s possible via a new toggle inside apps, called Precise Location, according to a report on Apple focused site 9to5Mac, which details how the function works.
More granular controls in iOS 14
Currently, Apple offers location privacy controls “while using the app,” “always,” or “never,” but this is on the basis of providing the app with your exact location. Using Apple’s new iOS 14 feature, your exact location will be obscured and instead, Location Services will expose an area in a circle of a few miles’ diameter. Your location will be somewhere in the circle—not necessarily in the center—and it will only be recomputed a few times each hour.
Among the benefits, the iOS 14 feature gives you much more granular control over privacy. When iOS 14 finally drops this fall, you will see the Precise Location toggle in apps, and some developers may even tell you if they don’t need your exact whereabouts to function properly.
The toggle will in most cases default to on, so make sure you check all your apps and switch it to off if you don’t want apps to track your exact location. You can also access the toggle in iOS 14 by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
Privacy and functionality in iOS 14
It’s a very cool feature that hopefully all privacy-conscious iPhone users will take advantage of in iOS 14. Of course, some apps will need your exact location, but others don’t—and it’s great for your privacy not to have to share this valuable information.
Jake Moore, cybersecurity specialist at ESET welcomes the new iOS 14 feature, saying: “Location tracking is something that I have never been comfortable with, especially within apps that genuinely have no requirement to make the app function more advantageously.”
He points out that precise location is only really needed rarely and advises that you “treat all apps independently” and always check the default settings.
The new iOS 14 privacy feature comes alongside a number of other new privacy controls intended to give Apple users more autonomy over their data. But some people complain that increased privacy controls can also impact the functionality of their iPhones. Not in this case, which is why it could be truly transformational for your experience in iOS 14.
The Link LonkAugust 16, 2020 at 05:00PM
https://ift.tt/345yIkk
iOS 14: This Hidden New Feature Is A Momentous Leap For iPhone Privacy - Forbes
https://ift.tt/2ZaIe2Q
iOS
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22686894/backboneonexbox.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment