iOS 17 brings some interesting new privacy features to different apps like Safari, Photos or just Calendar. I picked 8 for you.
Private browsing in Safari
Safari’s incognito windows are now locked and require secondary authentication to access. If you lend someone your phone and they try to open an incognito tab, access will be denied without a Face ID/Touch ID scan or passcode.
Removal of tracking URLs
Opening a URL in an incognito window automatically removes any tracking information added to the URL and blocks unknown trackers, preventing businesses from tracking your browsing across multiple websites.
It is also possible to add this option to all windows, private or not, by going to Preferences > Safari > Advanced.
password release
With iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, the new Shared Passwords feature makes it possible to securely share passwords with friends and family.
You create groups that contain the passwords and can add people to those groups. While that’s not what it’s designed for, I see the ability to group passwords by category, like “Multimedia,” “Administrator,” etc. to organize your gear. If a person needs passwords for Disney, Netflix and other Paramounts, you can add them to that group and you’re done!
iPhone passcode
If you change your iPhone passcode and accidentally forget the new passcode you chose, you now have 72 hours to correct it without locking your device.
App access to photos
With iOS 17, Photo Picker allows us to share specific photos with apps while keeping the rest of the photo library private. Apps should request access to the entire photo library from the user, who will be notified of shared photo information.
Access from applications to the calendar
Following the same principle as for photos, thanks to the option “Add events only”, applications can now add an event to the calendar application without being able to view the user’s calendar.
History in the Home app
The Home app now includes a 30-day activity history so users can see who accessed door locks, garage doors, contact sensors, and alarm sensors and when.
Diploma
With iOS 17, Apple is reaffirming its desire to protect its users from the great evil of the internet, and some of these new features are debatable, but still less so than the tracking announcement that came with iOS 15 and will be supported with iOS 16. We remember that Facebook had some small problems…