Safari settings for iOS 12 and iOS 13 both state that, "Before visiting a website, Safari may send information calculated from website address to Google Safe Browsing and Tencent Safe Browsing to check if the website is fraudulent." The problem with that is Tencent, a company that runs a number of popular apps like WeChat and QQ Browser in China, is legally obligated to share data with the Chinese government. While Google's Safe Browsing service does have its own share of privacy concerns, Apple's Safari browser has been using another similar blacklist powered by Tencent, meant to cater to users in China. SEE ALSO: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Review: More Of The Max And Less Of The Pro But, research shows that with enough look-ups, the company can piece together what websites your device's IP address has been seeking to visit.
#Com apple safari safebrowsing service full
The data scrambling bit is done to prevent Google from learning the full website address and safeguard privacy. Typically, the browser sends your device's IP address and along with it, a scrambled version of the website's address to Google.
A browser could directly submit every link you click to be checked against Google's blacklist, which, in turn would create a pretty extensive log of a users internet activity linked to a particular IP address. However, this service can be used as a pretty nifty tracking tool as well. The browser can warm you by accessing Google's Safe Browsing service which works as an enormous list of malicious websites which exist on the internet. The issue deals with a baked-in Safari feature meant to protect users from potential phishing scams from fraudulent websites, say for example, a mock login page meant to harp you off your passwords. A seemingly minor change to Apple's Safari browser on iOS is raising privacy alarms over whether it can expose users' website look-ups to the Chinese tech giant Tencent.