Apple updated parental controls in iOS 26 and other operating systems with new child safety features, like permission to text new numbers.

Apple system securely shares the age range of children with apps, and prevents kids from communicating with new people without permission.

(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

WhatsApp will let you sign in to the service with a username instead of your phone number for increased privacy when messaging and texting.

Meta is rolling out a small but important privacy tweak in WhatsApp to ensure messages you've deleted are also removed from quoted replies.

What does the orange dot on your iPhone mean — and while we’re at it, how about the green dot? It can appear randomly in the Dynamic Island.

(via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

macOS 16 will improve clipboard privacy on your Mac by displaying a banner if an app tries to read the things you've copied and pasted.

Unlike most free DNS servers, a new one from Surfshark won’t constantly track you. Here’s how to switch to it — it’s easy!

(via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

Apple recently notified iPhone owners who became victims of government-sponsored spyware attacks around the world to help increase their security and privacy.

Learn how to boost privacy on WhatsApp by blocking chat participants from exporting your conversations and downloading media to their phone.

The new AutoVPN jailbreak tweak can automatically connect you to a VPN based on the Wi-Fi network you're using or the app you launch.

This hardware can protect your identity online and shield you from threats. Save on Deeper Connect Mini, a decentralized VPN and firewall.

(via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

If a police officer or federal agent requests or demands your iPhone, hard-lock it before handing it over to protect your private data.

(via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

A new blog post explains how Apple can generate the data needed to train its large language models without violating user privacy

(via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

WhatsApp is testing an advanced chat privacy feature to limit the sharing of messages, photos and videos in individual and group conversations.

iOS 18.4 brings a new Improve Location Accuracy toggle in the privacy settings that helps your iPhone resolve a precise location more quickly.

The Safari browser in Apple's iOS 18.4 software update exposes your recent searches, but there's a toggle to stop this for privacy reasons.

An exploit in Apple's Find My network allows hackers to turn any device with Bluetooth, like a phone or a computer, into a AirTag tracker.

Apple created new iPhone and iPad tools to encourage parents to set up Child Accounts, and specify the ages of their kids.

(via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)

Apple's Safari tweak in iOS 18.4 could upset privacy advocates because the browser exposes your recent searches when you touch the URL bar.

Learn about Advanced Data Protection and turn it on to end-to-end encrypt additional things like iCloud notes, photos, voice memos, and more.