The company introduced new user security measures that will protect iCloud accounts via end-to-end encryption, closing a backdoor used to read iMessages.
Apple is making new efforts to increase user security. While the company has previously touted its overall privacy prowess, the new features are specifically meant to to safeguard iCloud accounts and iMessage.
Apple unveiled three major security features in an announcement published Wednesday. The first, iMessage Contact Key Verification, allows you to ensure that your messages are only visible to you and the given recipient. Security Keys for AppleID, meanwhile, can require the use of an external, physical security key to bolster iCloud’s two-factor authentication. Advanced Data Protection for iCloud can protect backed up data—texts, photos, and other personal data—with end-to-end encryption when activated.
“Our security teams work tirelessly to keep users’ data safe, and with iMessage Contact Key Verification, Security Keys, and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, users will have three powerful new tools to further protect their most sensitive data and communications,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, in the company’s press release.
