WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Apple (AAPL.O) has said it now requires a judge’s order handy over details about its customers’ push notification to law enforcement, putting the iPhone maker’s policy according to rival Google and raising the hurdle officials must clear to get app data about users.
The brand new policy was not formally announced but appeared sometime over the past few days on Apple’s publicly available law enforcement guidelines. It follows the revelation from Oregon Senator Ron Wyden that officials were requesting such data from Apple in addition to from Google, the unit of Alphabet (GOOGL.O) that makes the operating system for Android phones.
Apps of every kind depend on push notifications to alert smartphone users to incoming messages, breaking news, and other updates. These are the audible “dings” or visual indicators users get once they receive an email or their sports team wins a game. What users often don’t realize is that just about all such notifications travel over Google and Apple’s servers.
In a letter first disclosed by Reuters last week, Wyden said the practice gave the 2 corporations unique insight into traffic flowing from those apps to users, putting them “in a novel position to facilitate government surveillance of how users are using particular apps.”
Apple and Google each acknowledged receiving such requests. Apple added a passage to its guidelines saying such data was available “with a subpoena or greater legal process.” The passage has now been updated to consult with more stringent warrant requirements.
Apple didn’t offer an official statement. Google didn’t immediately reply to a request searching for comment.
Wyden said in a press release that Apple was “doing the precise thing by matching Google and requiring a court order handy over push notification related data.”
