What the new labels of the iPhone are and how do they work

A while ago Apple promised to their users a higher safety and protection of their personal datas. Today the Cupertino company keeps its promise, by introducing the labels. What the new labels of the iPhone are and how do they work?

For the users’ privacy

The last june, during the WWDC, in streaming, Apple announced that it was working on a new system, to protect the privacy of its users. A mode that had to exactly clarify what the applications do with the personal datas.

Apple kepts its promise and even in a short time. In the month of november, infact, it communicated to the developers that they had to adapt their apps very soon, otherwise they didn’t have any more the possibility to upgrade their apps.

Lastly, the new function became available the last 8th of december of the 2020, for all the users that use iOS 14.

What is happening in the developers side with the new labels of the iPhone?

Apple gave many months to developers to adapt themselves to the change, before the ultimatum of november. The labels clearly say to use which datas are collected by an application and why. And all the new apps and the new upgrades presented to Apple must have these informations.

The labels will be a mandatory for all the applications on all the platforms, and not only for the iPhone. They will be, so, a mandatory on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

This system, says Apple, won’t be only enforced only for the applications of the others, but the company of Cupertino itslef will follow the same rules for every new app and upgrade.

While in case of an application that there isn’t on the App Store and that can’t be removed, as the application Messages, for example, Apple will give the informations of the labels straight on its own website.

How do the new lables of the iPhone work

Inside the App Store the new labels of the iPhone will be visible under the button to start the download of the application.

To optimaze the functioning of the labels, Apple divided the datas collection by the applications in three categories:

• Datas used to track you. In this case the application admits that it’s collecting the informations about the user (like the geolocalization) and to share them with others, for a focused advertising.
• Datas connected with you. If we find the label about the “datas connected to you”, that means that the application is collecting your personal datas (the one gave during the app usage or the one collected during the creation of an account), to use them to realize focused advertising.
• Datas not connected to you. And that, with the last label, the application says that the datas collected, like the position or the browsing history, won’t be connected to the user.

Besides to the three main labels, there are even other labels. They are the label “No collected datas”, for the applications that don’t collect any datas of the user, but they are very few.

And the label “No available information”, for the applications that didn’t adapt themselves to the change. These applications, obviusly, aren’t allow to do upgrades.

Apple and the privacy

The company of Cupertino always made the privacy its strong suit. And it is for this reason that the labels are only one of the acts to protect their users (they aren’t the first one and they won’t be the last).

On the offical website Apple writes: “The privacy is an essential human right. In Apple, it is even one of our main value. Your devices are essential for many aspects of your life. What you share from that experiences and with which you share it, it might be on you.

We plan Apple products to protect your privacy and to give you the control of the informations. It isn’t always easy. But this kind of innovation is what we believe”.

This post is also available in: Italiano