Apple Intelligence Privacy in iOS 18
Apple has already released the fourth iOS 18 beta, but there’s no trace of Apple Intelligence in it. However, it looks like Apple’s AI features will soon be available to test. Apple is ramping up its Apple Intelligence marketing efforts.
Apple's Developer Event
The company has scheduled a developer event for August 14th in Cupertino where it’ll recap Apple Intelligence. Separately, a new privacy-centered interview with Apple execs also tackles Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT privacy in iOS 18.
Privacy Features of Apple Intelligence
From WWDC 2024, we already know that Apple Intelligence comes with strong privacy protections and that most AI processing happens on-device. The new Private Cloud Compute infrastructure handles the privacy of the data that needs to be processed in the cloud. For ChatGPT interactions, users will have to manually agree to send data to OpenAI’s servers.
Privacy Protection Details
In their interview, the Apple execs detailed how privacy protections work in Apple Intelligence. They explained that the Semantic Index handles personal data on devices to understand context. The data is encrypted locally and not synced to the cloud or between devices. Third parties can inspect the security and privacy of user data to ensure Apple’s security claims are genuine.
ChatGPT Integration
Skinner and Parakilas also said that Apple relies on its own models for everything in Apple Intelligence except for ChatGPT integration. OpenAI’s chatbot will be a key part of Apple Intelligence until Apple can replace it with something of its own. ChatGPT should be able to answer more complex queries than Siri.
Control over Data
Skinner reiterated that iOS 18 users will be in control of the data they send to OpenAI. They must agree to do it before prompts hit OpenAI’s servers. Users will benefit from strong privacy promises in this integration.
Future of Apple Intelligence
Apple will delay the rollout of Apple Intelligence in the EU for quite a while. As we await the integration of Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT, users can expect enhanced privacy features within the iOS 18 environment.
