
How to Make the Most of Apple’s New Privacy Tools in iOS 13 - c89X
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/technology/personaltech/privacy-tools-apple-ios-13.html
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crobertsbmw
I hate clickbait that leads to Paywalls.

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GEBBL
Please, someone, do the needful.

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otalp
To get the latest security protections against viruses, exploits and whatever
other nasty stuff is out there, it’s wise to keep the software for our devices
updated.

For iPhones, that’s especially true now. That’s because Apple’s iOS 13, the
most recent mobile software for iPhones, arrived last week. Similar updates to
the operating system for iPads, iPadOS, was released this week. And they offer
many new tools that help safeguard our digital privacy.

Apple walked me through a list of the new privacy features. Among them is a
shortcut to automatically create a burner email address for signing in to
apps. The software also has a call-silencing feature to shut down robocallers.
And there are new buttons to minimize sharing of location data with third
parties.

In an era when digital privacy is in the spotlight, these tools are more than
welcome. So I tested iOS 13 for a week to figure out which of the new features
are easy to use and how best to take advantage of those items that are buried
in the system settings. (Android users, stay tuned for a similar how-to guide
on Google’s new privacy tools soon.) Interested in All Things Tech? The Bits
newsletter will keep you updated on the latest from Silicon Valley and the
technology industry.

One word on when you should adopt iOS 13: New operating systems are typically
chock-full of software bugs, and this one is no exception. So it would behoove
most iPhone owners to wait a few weeks for those glitches to be fixed before
installing the free update.

For now, bookmark this column to find out more about iOS 13’s top new privacy
features. Then return to it after you download the update.

Unlock more free articles. Create an account or log in Signing in to apps with
a burner email address

Apple’s most significant new privacy tool in iOS 13 is a button that lets you
use an Apple ID to sign in to apps and websites. It’s called Sign in with
Apple.

Versions of this already exist elsewhere. Google and Facebook, for instance,
let you use your Google or Facebook accounts to log in to different websites
and apps. But Sign in with Apple has a special privacy-centric twist.

When you use it to register for a website or app, iOS 13 will present you with
an option to hide your email address that is linked to your Apple ID. If you
choose to use it, Apple will create what is essentially a burner email address
so that you can sign up for the app or website while hiding your real email
address from the third party.

Whenever the website or app then tries to contact you, it will email the
burner address and not your real email address. Apple will forward the note to
you so you are aware of it. Then if a business starts sending spam to the
burner email address, you can easily delete your account and the business
won’t have your real email address.

I tested Sign in with Apple with a few apps like the travel-booking app Kayak.
It worked smoothly. Here’s how: When I opened the Kayak app, the button
labeled Sign in with Apple showed up. After clicking through, I saw the option
to hide your email address. From there, Apple generated a random string of
characters as a burner address and automatically set a password for the
account.

Sign in with Apple then made logging in and out of the Kayak app a breeze. I
didn’t have to memorize the burner email address or password; after signing
out of the app or website, I signed back in by scanning my face and using
Apple’s Face ID biometric system.

There are some downsides. If you try to sign in with the burner email account
on, say, a web browser that lacks Sign in with Apple, you will have to
manually enter the email address and reset the password.

So this feature is most convenient with apps and sites that you plan to use
primarily on the iPhone, to spare you the hassle of jotting down strange email
addresses and their passwords.

Shoo, robocallers

Robocallers can make random calls to you throughout the day, which is
invasive. But a new option in iOS 13 lets you silence calls coming from all
unknown numbers. I had mixed feelings about this tool, which I’ll explain in a
bit.

To turn on the feature, you open the Settings app, open the Phone menu and
toggle on the switch for Silence Unknown Callers. When an unknown caller then
tries to call, you will see a notification on your screen, but the phone won’t
vibrate or ring. The caller is sent to voice mail.

This is a brute-force approach to shutting out robocallers, which makes it
imperfect. When I tested this feature, I blocked six spam calls — but also
missed several important work-related calls from people who were not yet in my
address book.

Still, Apple’s tool is a decent temporary solution compared with several
robocall-blocking apps that I have tested over the last several years. All of
those were ineffective and let plenty of scam calls through.

Stop apps and people from following your location

Unbeknown to many of us, thousands of apps have been collecting our location
data and selling the information to advertisers, retailers and hedge funds.

New buttons in iOS 13 help address this issue. In the past, when opening a
newly downloaded app that wanted access to your location, you had the option
of always sharing location data, sharing it only when the app was in use or
never sharing location. Now when you open an app that is asking for your
location, you can tap “Allow Once.”

If you tap it, you are explicitly giving the app permission to share your
location that one time. That eliminates the app’s ability to continue pulling
your location data in the background when you are not using it.

The annoying part of this is that if you tap Allow Once, you will be asked how
you want to share your location data every time you open the app. But it’s
worth using for peace of mind if you don’t fully trust an app that wants your
location — a weather app from an unknown start-up, for example.

Similarly, iOS 13 now requires that apps ask for permission to gain access to
your Bluetooth sensor, the chip that you typically use to wirelessly connect
to accessories like earphones. That can stop many retailers and brands that
have deployed Bluetooth-sensing beacons throughout their physical stores from
knowing when you have entered their location.

For apps that clearly don’t use this sensor for anything other than detecting
your location — like the Macy’s app — you may choose to reject access.

Image

CreditBrian X. Chen/The New York Times There’s one more important new feature
in iOS 13 related to location sharing that has to do with your camera.

When you take photos, the camera records metadata by default, including where
the photo was taken. Photo apps use this feature to automatically organize
your photo albums by place. But if you share an image containing location
metadata on social media or in messages, you could give away sensitive
information like where you live or work.

With iOS 13, you can strip metadata from a photo before sharing it. In the
Photos app, you choose the photo and tap the icon of a square with an arrow
pointing upward. Then click Options, and for the option that says Location,
switch it to the off position. Then you can share the photo without revealing
your whereabouts.

Bottom line

Over all, these are thoughtful additions to iOS. Although some of these
features feel overdue, Apple’s software system is better equipped to protect
our privacy than its main rival, Google’s Android.

Most important, Apple’s descriptions of the features are written in plain
language for casual users. For example, when Macy’s asked for access to my
Bluetooth, Apple’s notification warned that the app could use the sensor to
know when I am nearby.

It’s disturbing to realize by getting all these new privacy tools now that our
data was ever exposed like this to begin with. These are all features we have
desperately needed in the constant struggle to protect our digital privacy.

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Angostura
> With iOS 13, you can strip metadata from a photo before sharing it. In the
> Photos app, you choose the photo and tap the icon of a square with an arrow
> pointing upward. Then click Options, and for the option that says Location,
> switch it to the off position.

I _thought_ that previously, location metadata was stripped on export - and
that this is a new option to retain it. But now I've realised that I might
have been wrong. Shows how difficult it is to keep track of pribacy issues
these days.

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smartbit
Reads like an advertorial. Nothing about all the ways that Apple is violating
privacy unknown to the majority of it's users. Eg.

    
    
      - all numbers called go to Apple, no way to stop them spying on you
      - stopping iCloud sync/backup is elaborous and error prone
      - WiFi and Bluetooth emit their presence at all time
      - etc, etc.

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brador
All numbers called go to Apple? Is this true?

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gergles
No, of course not. All numbers _texted_ do, when you start a new conversation
thread (to check if the number is enrolled in iMessage), though.

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smartbit
A quick search came up with this.

 _iDevices that share the same Apple /iCloud ID will have content synched
amongst the devices, and will "ring" once a call is received if the
Handoff/Continuity feature is enabled and therefore you will see calls on the
log of both phones._

[https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7053494?answerId=282888...](https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7053494?answerId=28288813022#28288813022)

