Apple: Governments are using push notifications to monitor smartphone users

In a letter to the US Department of Justice, US Senator Ron Wyden drew attention to the fact that unspecified governments are using push notifications to monitor smartphone users, reports Reuters. Shortly thereafter, Apple responded in a statement that the US government has prohibited the company from speaking publicly about the practice.

However, the senator's letter gives the company the opportunity to update its own transparency guidelines in order to inform the public about these processes. In response, Apple has updated its own "Legal Process Guidelines", confirming that it is at least possible to find out the Apple ID associated with an Apple Push Notification Service Token. But governments cannot view the content of push notifications.

Nevertheless, such information makes it theoretically possible to determine the identity of otherwise anonymous users of certain apps by linking incoming messages to the Apple ID or Google account stored on the smartphone. Google's response to this matter is less specific; the company simply assures that it is committed to informing users about such government requests. It is unclear how long such information has been collected, and a list of governments that undertake such practices has not been published, but it is said to include the USA and US-allied democracies.