IPHONE owners have been encouraged to install the latest update available on their device, which fixes an issue related to iCloud.
Apple routinely releases minor iOS updates when flaws are discovered to protect users before hackers detect them.
The tech giant says the latest software has been released with some “important bug fixes” in the mix.
But the company also warns that there is a problem that “prevents you from activating or deactivating Advanced Data Protection” on the iPhone.
Advanced Data Protection is an extra feature you can turn on at any time for additional iCloud services.
This includes iCloud device backups, message backups, and photo backups.
When enabled, it protects most of your iCloud data using end-to-end encryption.
But there was a bug in iOS 17.6 that prevented a small number of users from enabling it.
Doing so would fail or show an error message.
Fortunately, affected users were never led to believe the feature was working when it failed.
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The latest version, iOS 17.6.1, should fix all of this and provide the option to everyone.
You can wait for it to download and install automatically, or you can force it right now.
To install the latest version of iOS, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
How does iCloud work now?
Apple’s default iCloud protection system is known as Standard Data Protection.
It works using something called encryption, which makes your data unreadable – unless you have the right “key”.
They are designed to prevent anyone from snooping on your data.
Apple stores this information in its data centers, but it also has the encryption “keys” that can unlock much of your information.
This includes backups, photos, documents, notes and more.
The idea is that sometimes it is useful for this to be the case.
“The encryption keys for your trusted devices are protected in Apple data centers,” explains Apple.
“So Apple can decrypt your data on your behalf whenever you need it, like when you log in to a new device, restore from a backup, or recover your data after forgetting your password.
“As long as you can sign in with your Apple ID, you can access your backups, photos, documents, notes, and more.”
There are also 15 categories of data – including Health passwords and iCloud Keychain – that are fully encrypted and Apple cannot access them.
Unfortunately, someone else – even a trusted company – possessing your encryption keys also increases your privacy risk.
Apple regularly denies requests from law enforcement authorities to unlock iPhones.
But it can – and in many cases does – provide police with iCloud backups.
Advanced Data Protection
Advanced Data Protection is an enhanced version that makes it impossible for anyone to access data.
The purpose of Advanced Data Protection is to increase the number of categories of data that Apple cannot access.
So, once turned on, Apple has absolutely no way to access 25 different categories of data.
This makes it much more difficult for highly advanced hackers to spy on what’s inside your iCloud.
Additionally, it prevents governments from requesting information about what you are doing in most cases.
Here is the full list of end-to-end encrypted data types in Advanced Data Protection:
- iCloud Backup (including devices and messages backup)
- iCloud Drive
- Photos
- Grades
- Sticky notes
- Safari Favorites
- Siri Shortcuts
- Voice memos
- Wallet passes
- Free form
- Passwords and keychain
- Health data
- Diary data
- initial data
- Messages in iCloud
- Payment information
- Apple Card Transactions
- Maps
- Vocabulary learned from the QuickType keyboard
- Safari
- Screen time
- Siri Information
- Wi-Fi passwords
- W1 and H1 Bluetooth Keys
- Memoji
The only three categories that don’t receive full protection are iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendars.
For everything else, Apple doesn’t have encryption keys.
So if a police force asked for your photos, Apple wouldn’t be able to oblige.
And if a hacker managed to break into Apple’s systems, he wouldn’t be able to spy on your messages.
iPhone Tricks to Try Today
Here are some of the best…
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the spacebar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, allowing you to move words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapping squares in the bottom right corner and press close all tabs
- Delete many photos quickly – Long press a photo and drag your finger diagonally across Photos to select multiple images at once and click delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of the home screen (or swipe left to right on an iPhone X or later model), tap the bar and enter a currency (like $200) and it will automatically convert to your local currency
- Check if you need a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and check the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally, a battery is considered exhausted when its capacity is reduced to 80%. If it’s below, you can buy a battery change from Apple
- Move apps faster – Hold an app until it starts to jiggle, then (while holding) tap other apps, making them stack so you can move them more easily
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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