Apple’s Lockdown Mode is good for security — but its notifications are baffling

As a paranoid journalist, I am an enthusiastic user of Apple’s opt-in “extreme protection” feature, Lockdown Mode. Apple launched Lockdown Mode in 2022, and since then the security feature is considered a must-use for dissidents in corrupt countries, human-rights defenders in oppressive regimes, and journalists speaking truth to power. Lockdown Mode is designed to switch off some features in iPhones, iPads, and Macs, with the goal of reducing the likelihood that hackers armed with sophisticated spyware or zero-days — unknown flaws in systems that allow attackers to stealthily exploit them — can successfully break Apple’s operating system protections and spy on its users. In practice, Lockdown Made removes some normal Apple device features, such as fonts loaded from the internet that can track you, the ability to receive certain types of files, your location data from photos that you share, support for 2G cellular connectivity, and letting people who haven’t contacted you before reac ... Read full article.