iOS 13 will show exactly where your apps have tracked you: Apple to give users more control over their privacy with new map feature
- In iOS 13, users will start seeing a pop-up with a map showing their location data
- Also lets users disable ‘always on’ location tracking from apps in the background
- Comes as Apple is launching a slew of new privacy features in the iOS 13 update
Apple is letting users learn more about how apps track their location.
The iPhone maker is launching a bevvy of new privacy features in iOS 13 and among them is a tool that shows users a map of where apps have tracked them, according to 9to5Mac.
Users will be shown the map for apps that track their location in the background, such as Google Maps or Instagram.
Apple is letting users learn more about how apps track their location. In iOS 13, users will be shown a popup on their iPhone or iPad screen with a map of where apps have tracked them
A screenshot of the feature by 9to5Mac shows that along with a map, Apple provides a description of why the particular app is requesting that data.
The example given is with the Tesla app, in which the notification reads: ‘Tesla uses your location to show your proximity to your vehicle (while the app is open), and to optimize phone key on your supported vehicles (while the app is in the background.)
If users are uncomfortable with the app siphoning off data like this in the background, they can turn it off immediately.
Users can do this by tapping ‘Change to Only While Using,’ which means the app will only collect location data when it’s opened on your device.
It appears that even when users select ‘Always Allow,’ they’ll still get periodic pop-ups from Apple requesting whether they want to continue giving apps this same level of permission.
Overall, it should help users be more aware about what kinds of data apps are collecting and how often, as well as disincentivize app developers from shady location tracking.
The pop-ups are just one of the many ways Apple is trying to heighten user security in iOS 13. Apple will also let users share their location with an app only once
The pop-ups are just one of the many ways Apple is trying to heighten user security in iOS 13.
Apple will also let users share their location with an app only once.
When an app wants access to users’ location, users will have to give explicit permission.
Until now, users could choose between ‘Always,’ ‘Never’ or ‘While using,’ when sharing their location.
If ‘Always’ was selected, it meant that apps could track their location continuously in the background, often when users were unaware.
When apps collect data on users, Apple will also prepare a ‘report style’ documentation of ‘what they are up to,’ Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi said at Apple’s annual developer conference last week.