Apple didn’t wait for social networking giants and took action. Among the announcements of its Worldwide Developers Conference, on Monday Apple presented the latest version of the operating system for its desktop devices, macOS Mojave, which will include new privacy and security features.
According to Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, “macOS Mojave is a major upgrade that introduces powerful new features for a wide range of Mac users.
But in addition to the new look in the design, the Dark Mode that transforms the desktop and the group FaceTime, the macOS Mojave will include options that block access without user consent in social networks and on the web.
As with all Apple software updates, privacy and security remain a priority at macOS Mojave,” the company explained in an official blog post.
With Mojave, the Safari browser will have an improved intelligent tracking prevention system that will block the ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ buttons on social networks or comment widgets from being used to track users without their permission.
The new protections require applications to obtain user permission before using the camera and microphone on your computer or to access personal data such as your e-mail history or message database.
In addition to including a feature to block ads, the browser will also prevent tracking from your system settings to protect users when they browse the web.
Safari will be able to automatically create and store strong passwords when users create new online accounts and mark those that are reused for users to change.
The features announced by Apple come just days after the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which sets new privacy rules in Europe. In the event of non-compliance, the law provides for fines of up to 4 percent of annual revenues for companies that collect and handle personal data.