Apple Accused of Sharing Safari Users’ IP Addresses with Tencent
Apple has been accused of sending the IP addresses of Safari browser users on iOS devices to the Chinese corporation Tencent, a company closely linked to the Communist Party of China. The information about this data sharing was reported by Reclaim the Net, and Apple itself acknowledges that user data is transmitted to Tencent.
How the Data Sharing Happens
According to a report provided by researchers:
“The ‘Fraudulent Website Warning’ feature is enabled by default. To disable it, iPhone or iPad users need to dig into the settings menu. Otherwise, when using the Safari browser, IP addresses may be logged by Tencent or Google.”
It’s important to note that this is a security feature. Disabling it increases the risk of accidentally visiting fraudulent websites.
Third-Party Apps Also Affected
This intentional data sharing also occurs when using any third-party app that opens web pages via the Safari View Controller.