Apple continues working on privacy improvements in Safari as it seeks to disrupt the data industrial complex. Thinkstock
Apple seems focused on building Safari to become the world’s leading privacy-focused web browser, continuing development of under-the-hood enhancements to protect private lives.
Better privacy by proxy
Beginning with (currently in beta) iOS 14.5, Apple is improving privacy by changing how Safari accesses Google’s Safe Browsing service. The latter warns users when they visit a fraudulent website. (Apple uses the service to drive the Fraudulent Website Warning in
Settings>Safari on iOS or iPadOS devices.)
The Safe Browsing service works by identifying potentially compromised sites from Google’s web index. If it suspects a site is compromised, virtual machines are despatched to see whether the site attempts to compromise them.