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If you take nothing else from this newsletter, just do these three things to protect yourself:
- Share passwords using Shared Groups. You can securely share passwords with friends and family members using the Passwords app.
- Enable Private Wi-Fi Address. Private Wi-Fi Address is a feature that ensures your Apple devices have a unique MAC address, helping to reduce tracking and other data collection. If you experience issues with loading websites, you may need to disable this feature.
- Identify apps that are using your camera and microphone. If you ever see green or orange dots in your iPhone's status bar or on the Dynamic Island, that means an app has recently accessed your camera or microphone. Pulling down the Control Center can tell you which apps specifically are using your camera or microphone.
What should you do in the following scenario?
You receive a text that you have an unpaid toll. If you don't pay, you could be fined or even face jail time. The text provides a link where you can make your payment. What do you do? 🤔
- Follow the text's instructions and pay the toll.
- Ignore the text.
- Report it as spam and delete it.
Scroll to the bottom to see how you did!
This week, Apple announced a lineup of new hardware, including iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, and Apple Watch Series 12, as well as the Ultra 4. The Apple Watch in particular caught our attention with a couple of interesting new features: Siri Recap and Live Rewind. Siri Recap listens to your conversations throughout the day and gives you a summary of them so you can easily review them later. Live Rewind lets you view a transcript of the last 15 seconds of anything that's been said to you. The latter feature is designed for when you miss an important part of a conversation; for example, if you're in a loud restaurant and didn't quite catch all of the specials that the waiter told you about, you can check the Live Rewind transcript.
Both of these new features sound incredibly useful for those who have a hard time focusing or are hard of hearing. However, we do have some privacy concerns, considering both of these features mean your Apple Watch is actively listening to you all day. Apple claims that these "Audio Intelligence" features are designed with privacy in mind. It says these features do not create or store audio recordings, and any raw audio is only used for processing and is not accessible to anyone, not even Apple itself. Live Rewind transcripts and Siri Recaps are also end-to-end encrypted.
Basically, it sounds like Audio Intelligence is pretty secure. Of course, all we have to go off of at the moment is Apple's word, and the company has not given us any reason to distrust what it says about the privacy of these features. Even so, having your every word collected and processed by an AI, no matter how private, can be discomfiting to say the least. Read more on Apple's Support page for Audio Intelligence.
The Bottom Line: These new features are opt-in, so if you have concerns about the new Apple Watch listening to your conversations, you don't have to turn either feature on. If you do choose to enable Audio Intelligence features, it sounds like Apple is doing everything it can to keep your conversations private and secure.
ALPRs Continue to Be a Problem
This week, we have yet another example of a city canceling its contract with surveillance company Flock, only for the company to keep the cameras running anyway. This time, it was even more egregious. The city of Grass Valley, California, canceled its contract with Flock, and the company received a letter stating as much on August 11. The city then began taking the cameras down. In response, Flock started putting cameras back up. The company claims that it was simply following maintenance procedures. On their end, it appeared as though the cameras were offline and needed to be replaced, despite the contract being canceled.
In other Flock news, while cities are canceling contracts with the now-infamous surveillance company, some are signing contracts with a different company called Axon. Axon does the exact same thing as Flock: It monitors automated license plate readers (ALPRs) throughout cities and builds a database of every vehicle that passes by. Not only that, but the company already has a relationship with law enforcement since it also supplies officer body cameras. Now, it seems law enforcement agencies are asking Axon to make its cameras look different from Flock's to avoid the vandalism that the latter has experienced. Read more at 404 Media.
The Bottom Line: ALPRs are still a problem even if the company most notorious for running them is losing its business. If you have concerns about ALPRs in your city, be sure to raise those concerns with your local officials. In some jurisdictions, the thoughts and opinions of citizens can affect local laws.
DHS Uses Predictive Policing
According to a new report from 404 Media, the US Department of Homeland Security is running "predictive policing units" that, as the name suggests, predict when individuals have committed a crime without any actual evidence of said crime. In 404 Media's coverage, there is an example of one such unit analyzing the financial data of a man driving across Montana to predict that he may be driving under the influence. The unit pulled him over for an obstructed license plate but ended up charging him with a DUI. Check the full report at 404 Media for more details.
The Bottom Line: While we certainly aren't condoning driving under the influence, predictive policing is still a dangerous practice. It relies on analyzing data and making guesses rather than relying on evidence and facts. Predictive policing is something that we've seen in dystopian films like Minority Report and 1984, and these stories certainly do not endorse the practice. Instead, they serve as cautionary tales of how this type of policing can easily lead to wrongfully arresting an innocent person.
Is Your LG Smart TV Spying on You?
An investigation by YouTube channel Gamers Nexus has found that LG smart TVs are violating users' privacy. Gamers Nexus found that LG smart TVs can actively scan local networks for wireless devices like phones and smartwatches, and collect the names and signal strengths of other nearby Wi-Fi networks. Not only that, but Gamers Nexus conducted multiple experiments on a single, brand-new LG TV and found that its microphone was capturing audio even when the TV appeared to be powered off. Even when the TV was disconnected from the internet, it continued to collect voice recordings locally and then uploaded them once it was reconnected. If this was happening with a normal, randomly selected, fresh-off-the-shelf LG TV, we have every reason to assume it affects other LG smart TVs. Read more at Notebook Check or check out the Gamers Nexus video itself.
The Bottom Line: LG has denied that its smart TVs are spying on people, but the evidence from Gamers Nexus seems legitimate. We generally recommend against using smart TVs anyway, though that is easier said than done since the majority of TVs today are smart by default. If you can avoid it, we recommend not connecting your smart TV to the internet (or disconnecting it, if you've already connected it to the internet). Instead, if you need smart capabilities for your TV, we recommend an Apple TV, due to Apple's strict privacy standards. Apple TVs do not rely on third-party advertisers for revenue, so you can rest assured that it is not recording your voice and selling your conversations to the highest bidder. Though, keep in mind that the Apple TV is just a streaming box. You'll still need to connect it to your actual TV.
Discord Rolling Out Age Verification Once More
Earlier this year, social app Discord announced that it would be rolling out age verification, which was met with widespread backlash. The near-universal criticism caused the company to delay the rollout and go back to the drawing board on how it would implement age verification. Now, it appears Discord is once again introducing age verification in areas where it is required by law. Discord has added a few new options for verifying user ages: Video selfies are used to estimate your age range and, according to Discord, are not stored. Alternatively, users with passports in Google Wallet can also share their age that way, or upload credit card details through a third party. Lastly, you can go the traditional route and upload a scan of your government ID. For all of its age verification methods, Discord claims that any data it collects (credit card details, ID scans, etc.) is deleted immediately after verifying your age. Read more at Gadget Review or check out Discord's blog post on the changes.
The Bottom Line: According to Discord, many users may never even be asked to verify their ages. The prompt only appears when a user attempts to access age-restricted content. Age verification is complicated. In order for it to work, you have to trust that the company is being honest about not retaining your data, and if it's not, you risk your data being exposed in a breach. Due to Discord's track record regarding privacy (such as not encrypting chat messages), the company has not given us many reasons to trust it with something as sensitive as an ID.
Utah Age Verification Law Takes Aim at VPNs
In Utah, a law has now gone into effect that requires any website that hosts adult content to verify the ages of users. The law also specifies that anyone who is physically located in the state must verify their age, regardless of the IP address they are using when accessing the site. This part of the law is meant to crack down on VPN usage, since VPNs can be used to spoof your location. However, though it is impossible to know where someone is physically located when they are using tools to spoof their location, the law makes websites and apps legally responsible for identifying users located in Utah and verifying their ages. Check out the full story at TechRadar.
The Bottom Line: This law in Utah is going to be difficult to enforce. It seems many websites are simply blocking VPN traffic altogether in order to comply with the law and avoid accidentally allowing someone who is using a VPN in Utah onto the site. If you are located in Utah and rely on a VPN, you may face new challenges when browsing the web.
Australians Want to Opt Out of Social Media Algorithms
Australian lawmakers are proposing new legislation that would require social media companies to allow users to opt out of algorithms. Essentially, when opted out of algorithms, social media users would only see content from people and groups that they follow. The laws would also require social media companies to protect underage users from harmful content. Head over to The Guardian for more.
The Bottom Line: Opting out of social media algorithms is a win any way you look at it. It means the apps collect less data about you, and you can rest assured that you'll only ever see the content that you want to see. The laws aimed at protecting underage users are a bit more dicey since they involve age verification. However, age verification laws are already in effect in Australia, in which case these new laws may help to strengthen protections for underage users.
Modified Meta Smart Glasses Are Being Disabled
Meta is taking action against smart glasses users who have disabled the recording indicator. Normally, when recording video or taking photos with Meta glasses, there is an LED light that lets others around you know that the camera is in use. However, some users have found ways to cover or disable the LED, allowing for covert filming. Now, it appears that the social media giant has pushed out an update that completely disables the camera on glasses that have tampered with the recording indicator. Read more at Business Insider.
The Bottom Line: While we still believe smart glasses are a bad idea, it's great to see Meta taking action against bad actors who are trying to use the cameras for nefarious purposes.
Doctor Doom Praises Axon Cameras
A few weeks ago, we reported on a story of a man dressed as Darth Vader praising Flock cameras for aiding the Empire in hunting down Rebel fugitives. Now, it appears a man in Seattle was inspired by Darth Vader and showed up to a city council meeting dressed as Doctor Doom, a villainous character from Marvel Comics. Doctor Doom thanked the city of Seattle for setting up Axon cameras, allowing him to surveil citizens for their own protection. Check out the full story and watch the video clip of Doctor Doom's comments at 404 Media.
The Bottom Line: Like the Los Angeles Darth Vader before him, Doctor Doom was trying to draw comparisons between an evil comic book character and the surveillance cameras used by companies like Axon and Flock. If a comic book villain is evil for surveilling his citizens, should a real-life corporation doing the same thing not be viewed in the same light?
- The most recent iOS and iPadOS is 26.6.2
- The most recent macOS is 26.6.2
- The most recent tvOS is 26.6
- The most recent watchOS is 26.6
- The most recent visionOS is 26.6.1
Read about the latest updates from Apple.
The correct answer is C. Report it as spam and delete it. This is a common scam, and if you pay the "fine," you'll just be sending money to the scammer. You may also see variations of this scam claiming that a package was undeliverable or that you need to submit a payment for a recently purchased Apple device.
There is far too much security and privacy news for us to cover it all. When building this newsletter, we look for scams, hacks, trouble, and news to illustrate the kinds of problems Apple enthusiasts may encounter in our private lives, and the self-defense we can practice to keep our devices, accounts, and lives secure. Our commentary focuses on practical advice for everyday people. This newsletter was written by Cullen Thomas and Rhett Intriago and edited by August Garry.
Want to ensure your privacy when using your iPhone? Check out:
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