As anyone who closely follows Apple can attest, the company tends to harp on user privacy whenever it touts new software features. Not only do Apple executives genuinely care about protecting user data, a privacy-oriented philosophy also helps Apple differentiate itself from rivals like Google. True to form, Apple’s WWDC keynote this past Monday predictably included quite a few not-so-subtle jabs at Google.
With iOS 11, it’s worth noting that Apple will give privacy-minded users even more of a reason to breathe easy. Specifically, developers this week discovered an update to the Location Services pane wherein every app will now include a “While Using the App” option as it pertains to allowing location access. While some apps already featured such an option, some high-profile apps like Uber only gave users two choices: to always allow location access or to never allow location access. This of course made some users uneasy insofar that it would be preferable to enjoy Uber’s service without having the app consistently monitoring a user’s location.
iOS 11 Privacy Updates:
2. Location “While Using” is now ALWAYS an option for users.
(It’s about time!)https://t.co/QW5lkGnWE9
— Tinfoil 2.0 😱 (@tfoil2) June 6, 2017
With iOS 11 still in beta, most users won’t be able to take advantage of this minor yet highly welcome update for quite some time. If history is any indication, iOS 11 will be released to the public this September just days ahead of the iPhone 8 launch.
In the meantime, users interested in getting a sneak peak at Apple’s forthcoming mobile OS can download the first beta over here presuming that they have an existing Apple developers account.
