As part of its latest operating system update in September – iOS 16 – Apple have introduced a new feature that is set to help victims of domestic abuse regain a sense of privacy.
People often share their passwords, location, and other personal data with partners – and not necessarily by choice.
Apple’s new feature, “Safety Check”, aims to revoke this invasion of privacy. It is a centralised dashboard of controls that means all privacy permissions, location access, passwords, and data sharing can be controlled from one area.
This is designed to help those who are experiencing or at risk of domestic abuse easily control their privacy, as well as giving them peace of mind insofar as seeing what data sharing has been previously set up, and empowering them to end their abuser’s access.
Instructions to launch a Safety Check are as follows:
- Launch “Settings”
- Go to “Privacy and Security”
- Go to “Safety Check”
- Users can choose between two options: Emergency Reset and Manage Sharing & Access
- Emergency Reset: Immediately reset access for all people and apps, and review your account security.
- Manage Sharing & Access: Customise which people and apps can access your information, and review your account security.
Note that users can click “Quick Exit” in the top-right-hand corner of the screen at any moment. This will close the Settings app and instantly revert to the home screen, leaving no trace of the user having ever accessed the safety check feature, something helpful for those in domestic abuse situations wherein their abuser is controlling their use of a smartphone in person.
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