Apple wants to deliver security improvements independently of major system updates. A security check is designed to help users in abusive relationships.
Apple promises new security functions – both for better protection of the hardware and the users. In the new operating system versions iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS 13, Apple wants to provide security improvements faster in the future and deliver them between major system updates. The “Rapid Security Response” This function carries out the patches automatically and updates the security configuration of the device, for example. In some cases, this should also take place without a restart.
Patches so far only as system updates
Up to now, Apple has delivered security patches as part of the larger system updates. These are often only offered to users for download after days or weeks and the installation has to be initiated manually – which some people put off. This is particularly unfavorable when critical security gaps become known that are actively being exploited for attacks.
Which patches Apple is delivering as part of the new function remains unclear for the time being, the manufacturer has not yet given any details. There are already automatic background updates in macOS, which update Apple’s integrated anti-malware functions, for example.
Personal security check
In addition to the patches to protect devices and the operating system, iOS 16 & Co also introduced a new personal security check. The tool is specifically designed “when personal safety is at risk due to violence from a partner or intimate partner,” as Apple said. The function allows access for other people – for example to the shared location – and apps to be reset immediately.
You can also control with which people private content such as photos and calendars are shared in addition to your own whereabouts . Access permissions for apps can also be revoked centrally in this way. Apple has long offered a PDF personal security guide that outlines the steps needed to secure iPhone from partner. The integrated function will make this much easier in the future. Apple recently added the handbook on the topic of AirTag stalking.
