iOS 18's Cloud-Based AI Features Will Have Strong Privacy Protections, Report Says

iOS 18 is widely expected to include new generative AI features for the iPhone, with a mix of on-device and cloud-based processing, and a new report has outlined Apple's alleged privacy measures for the cloud-based features.

iOS 18 Siri Integrated Feature
Apple's AI servers will supposedly be powered by a combination of M2 Ultra and M4 chips that it uses in Macs and iPads. According to The Information's Wayne Ma, Apple plans to utilize the Secure Enclave in its chips "to help isolate the data being processed on its servers so that it can't be seen by the wider system or Apple." Technical details about the Secure Enclave are outlined in Apple's Platform Security Guide.

The report said this "confidential-computing approach" will have strong privacy protections:

With the confidential-computing approach, Apple will be able to handle processing of AI-related data in the cloud while making it extremely difficult for hackers to gain access to the data even in the event of a data breach. It would also reduce Apple's burden of having to hand over personal data from its servers in the event of a government or law enforcement request.

The report added that Apple has a longer-term goal of offloading the processing power of future wearable devices to servers powered by Apple silicon chips. This move could allow Apple to design a thinner and lighter Vision Pro headset, or future Apple Glasses.

More details can be found in the full report on The Information's website.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

Friday January 17, 2025 4:33 am PST by
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report. The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader. Vapor chamber technology is already used...

Top Rated Comments

sniffies Avatar
9 months ago
Even stronger than store-deleted-photos-for-decades kinda strong?
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
9 months ago

Apple can't even get Siri to work right. HomePods are a great example of pure failure. Apple expect us to think they can do AI better than the others? lol
My seven HomePods work great with Siri. Have you tried a Genius Bar visit to get to the bottom of your failures?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GMShadow Avatar
9 months ago

My seven HomePods work great with Siri. Have you tried a Genius Bar visit to get to the bottom of your failures?
The Genius Bar isn't a therapy replacement. ?


This will be a good contrast versus Microsoft's approach of tracking everything you do on device for monetization and advertising purposes.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
9 months ago

My seven HomePods work great with Siri. Have you tried a Genius Bar visit to get to the bottom of your failures?
Maybe a visit to Apple Engineering would provide better answers to why Siri's such a failure.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kagharaht Avatar
9 months ago
Apple can't even get Siri to work right. HomePods are a great example of pure failure. Apple expect us to think they can do AI better than the others? lol
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
9 months ago
What else would they say?

"Privacy will be pretty good ... not perfect, but... ya know ...we'll do our best within reason here..."
?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)