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When Apple introduced iOS 18 earlier this summer, I was a little disappointed by the lack of significant new security and privacy features. To some extent, I still feel that way. However, having had the iOS 18 beta running for over a month now, I want to highlight some of my favorite and most notable features. So here’s my ranking in ascending order. If your #1 favorite is different, comment below and I’ll tell you why you’re wrong 😉
Taking a cue from the Photos app, which lets users select individual photos and share them across an entire library, Apple has now added the ability to choose which contacts to share with an app. Before iOS 18, users had only two options: give an app full access to all of their contacts, or no access.
A user’s contacts may reveal more about them than they would like. For example, a doctor’s contact information could indicate a sensitive illness; the address of a crunch, temple or mosque could indicate a religious affiliation.
5. Notification of recorded phone calls
Also new in iOS 18 is a feature that allows users to record phone calls, transcribe them, and summarize them using Apple Intelligence. Once a recording is started, both parties are notified with an audio message and a visual indicator that the call is being recorded. Recorded transcriptions are automatically saved in the Notes app.
There are countless call recording apps on the App Store that require many steps, complicated setup, etc. Apple’s built-in native call recording feature in iOS 18 will eliminate this friction. It will likely help the most People are opting for this instead of a third-party app that actually notifies users when they are being recorded. However, I understand there will also be malicious actors who will intentionally want to bypass warnings and use separate recording devices. I think it’s a huge win for the public regardless!
4. Lock and hide apps
In iOS 18, Apple has taken a leaf out of the Photos app’s book and now allows users to lock or hide any app on the home screen. The app will remain hidden everywhere except for a section in Settings and a folder of hidden apps. It will require both Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode to open.
Apple claims this will allow users to protect sensitive content from accidental disclosure when sharing their devices or showing their screen to others.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to provide users with the strongest and most innovative privacy protections,” said Erik Neuenschwander, Apple’s director of user privacy, in a press release today. “This year is no exception, and the ability to lock and hide apps is just one example of how Apple is helping users maintain control of their information, even when they share their devices with others.”
And this is how it works:
- Press and hold any app
- Choose Face ID required
- Then choose between Face ID required or Hide and request Face ID
- The latter removes the app completely from your home screen and places it in a hidden apps folder at the bottom of your recent apps page
3. iMessage > RCS > SMS
With the release of iOS 18 beta 2 in June, Apple added RCS support, allowing iPhone users to finally send rich messages with audio and larger media files to Android users. Unlike SMS, RCS offers familiar features like read receipts and the classic tap animation, but it can also significantly improve privacy and security.
Keyword “capability”. RSC end-to-end encryption is a bit of a misunderstanding; Google only offers it as an additional security layer between Android and Android.
If you use SMS, MMS, or RCS to send messages to non-iPhones, they will still be sent to carriers in plain text, which can be read by malicious third parties if intercepted. Apple is hesitant about a cross-platform encryption standard. There is no rush to implement E2E, but we are slowly moving in that direction.
Separately, RCS also offers a message verification system that ensures only verified companies can send text messages to users. This reduces the amount of spam and phishing attempts a user can receive. In addition, it offers additional privacy through read receipts and typing indicators.
2. Apple’s new app “Passwords”
In previous versions of iOS, Apple provided its built-in Keychain password manager tool hidden in the Settings app. This allowed passwords to be automatically generated and stored in the Passwords section, but this can often be cumbersome when a user needs to manage specific logins.
In iOS 18, passwords now have their own app called Passwords. Apple hopes that this change will make password management more convenient for its users. Like 1Password, saved passwords can be accessed from any signed-in Apple device. You can even access your saved passwords on Windows through the iCloud app for Windows. Passwords will also come with some pretty competitive features.
“Building on the foundation of Keychain, which Apple first introduced over 25 years ago, the new Passwords app makes it easier for users to access account passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and two-factor authentication codes stored securely in Keychain. The app also includes alerts to users about common vulnerabilities, such as passwords that are easy to guess, have been used multiple times, or have appeared in known data breaches,” Apple said.
I’m excited to see how Apple continues to develop this.
Related: Can Apple’s new Password app replace your password manager?
1. Private cloud computing
Private Cloud Compute (PCC) is one of the technologies unveiled at WWDC24 that doesn’t get enough attention. PCC is designed using Apple’s silicon chips to process Apple Intelligence requests with end-to-end encryption. Apple claims to have no access to this data, touting a new level of privacy in the field of artificial intelligence.
Even today, iPhone, iPad, and Mac aren’t powerful enough to support all the AI models users need locally. That’s why Apple Intelligence does something pretty clever. When you use a feature like Siri in iOS 18, it uses a combination of on-device and server-based generative AI models to process requests. Anything that doesn’t have Siri’s knowledge is captured and managed securely in the cloud.
That’s the magic of private cloud compute.
“When a user makes a request, Apple Intelligence analyzes whether it can be processed on the device. If more computing power is needed, it can use Private Cloud Compute, which sends only the data relevant to the task to Apple Silicon servers. When requests are forwarded to Private Cloud Compute, the data is not stored or made accessible to Apple and is used only to fulfill the user’s requests,” Apple said.
You can find more details on how PCC works here.
More: Security Bite: Apple (finally) making it harder to override Gatekeeper is a significant step
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