Safety Check Lets Victims of Domestic or Intimate Partner Violence Reset Privacy Settings

Safety Check is a new iOS privacy feature that allows users whose safety may be at risk due to domestic or intimate partner violence to review and revoke access previously granted to their partner. Apple developed the feature in consultation with groups that support the victims of domestic and intimate partner violence, including the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Center for Victims of Crime, and Wesnet, The Women’s Services Network.

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Speed is important when someone’s safety may be at risk. Instead of hunting app-by-app to undo privileges granted to a partner, Safety Check includes an emergency reset that signs a user out of their iCloud account on other devices that might be in a partner’s possession, stops sharing their location, resets privacy permissions across all apps, and limits messaging to the device they have with them.

Safety Check also includes tools to manage sharing with people and apps. The feature can show you what you’re sharing and with whom and then change the access settings if you’d like. For apps, each type of private information that’s shared is listed and can be disallowed. It promises to be a great way to perform a periodic personal privacy audit.

With the number of apps we use and people we share with growing all the time, a tool like Safety Check is critical. It eliminates the need to go hunting for multiple privacy settings by consolidating the information in one place, which is important if you’re someone whose safety is at risk.

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