Safety Check

Katie Skinner, Apple’s Senior Manager of User Privacy Software, came on stage to talk about the steps the company is taking to help those at risk of domestic and partner violence stay safer.

Apple has been working closely with organizations that support victims of such abuse, and has developed a new Safety Check feature that will help iPhone users lock down their privacy quickly and easily.

Safety Check will review and reset access that you’ve granted to others, including location sharing and privacy permissions in apps, so that those in abusive situations can quickly revoke an abuser’s access when they need to get away.

This also includes protecting access to your messages by signing out of iCloud on all other devices, and restricting Messages and FaceTime to the device in your hand.

While Skinner pointedly avoided any mention of AirTags, these changes were undoubtedly inspired by the feedback that Apple has received after advocates against domestic violence spoke up about the weaknesses in AirTags’ safety features.