Apple has updated its policy to require a judge’s order to release information regarding its users’ push notifications to law enforcement, making it more challenging for officials to collect user app data. The policy is also similar to what the tech giant’s adversary, Google, already has in place.
Apple has not shared any information regarding the new policy, but it is clearly visible within the tech company’s publicly available law enforcement guidelines.
The change to Apple’s law enforcement guidelines comes after Oregon Senator Ron Wyden uncovered that officers demanded this type of specific data from Apple and Google (the department for Alphabet’s operating system for Android devices).
Almost all apps have push notifications to notify smartphone customers of updates, messages, calls, and other items, but what is not widely known is most of such notifications go through Apple and Google’s servers.
Wyden had said in a letter that both firms have particular insights into traffic going from apps to customers, allowing them to be “in a unique position to facilitate government surveillance of how users are using particular apps.”
Apple and Google say they have been served such requests, which may have led to Apple adding a line about data collection, saying it will be made available “with a subpoena or greater legal process.”
Both Apple and Google are staying mum about the data collection, but Wyden did not keep quiet and said Apple was “doing the right thing by matching Google and requiring a court order to hand over push notification related data.”
