Apple recently came under fire after the company was discovered to have been sending its consumers’ Safari browsing data to a Chinese company. Specifically, the data was being sent to Tencent, and included information such as the websites visited, and the IP address of each iOS user.
The findings were published by a cryptographer, Matthew Green where he found in the privacy policy fine print that Apple uses Google and Tencent to determine if a website is fraudulent. It was at this point that Green found out that the data sent might include the website visited by users as well as IP addresses.
In light of this revelation, Apple has responded to the allegations. Saying that the safe browsing feature by Tencent only affects devices sets within the China region, while devices outside of China are checked and verified by Google instead.
Apple also clarified that the actual URL of a website is never shared with the safe browsing provider and that the feature can be turned off. To disable it, iPhone users need only enter the Privacy and Security section and toggling the Fraudulent Website Warning option. Bear in mind, if you do this, Apple will not be able to verify the websites you visit against Google or Tencent’s lists.
(Source: Matthew Green, Bloomberg via 9to5Mac[1][2] // Image: ReclaimTheNet)
