Governments Exploit Push Notifications to Spy on Apple and Google Users

Unidentified governments are using push notifications to surveil smartphone users by demanding data from Apple and Google, according to US Senator Ron Wyden. The traffic from apps that send push notifications puts the tech giants in a unique position to facilitate government surveillance of app usage. Apple has confirmed that it will update its transparency reporting to detail these types of requests. The data is used to link anonymous users of messaging apps to specific accounts, and while Apple advises developers not to include sensitive data in notifications, metadata is not encrypted, potentially compromising user privacy.