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I hope Apple expands this quickly through minor updates to the OS rather than waiting for a next major release. This needs faster iteration than anything else.

Quoting what’s in the first release:

> At launch, Lockdown Mode includes the following protections:

> Messages: Most message attachment types other than images are blocked. Some features, like link previews, are disabled.

> Web browsing: Certain complex web technologies, like just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, are disabled unless the user excludes a trusted site from Lockdown Mode.

> Apple services: Incoming invitations and service requests, including FaceTime calls, are blocked if the user has not previously sent the initiator a call or request.

> Wired connections with a computer or accessory are blocked when iPhone is locked.

> Configuration profiles cannot be installed, and the device cannot enroll into mobile device management (MDM), while Lockdown Mode is turned on.

I’m not a target (I think, and hopefully don’t get to be one), but nevertheless I’d feel safer with this turned on (I very rarely use FaceTime, so not accepting it is not a big deal).

I’d also love more protections. Not allowing specific apps to connect to any network (WiFi included), Apple handling issue reports on apps with urgency (right now they seem to be ignored even when policy violations which are against the user’s interests are reported), etc.



I think it's reasonable to think Apple will iterate quickly on this.

Why? The iOS 15.x update history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_15

Lots and lots of privacy stuff in the point releases. (And accessibility stuff, they’ve been on a tear there.) They’re still in a monolithic mindset when it comes to the “big” apps, but they’re iterating faster on these sorts of things as the release cycle goes along.


You might have missed that Apple announced realtime security updates at WWDC [1].

[1]: https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/07/apple-introduces-real-time...


That includes fast, no-reboot, and invisible-to-the-user security patches, not improvements in features like Lockdown Mode.


Yup, I sure did.

That…is seemingly a thing they should have done a long time ago…but it’s still smart, and I’m glad they’re doing it. Now they don’t have to rush the QA of a point release to vanquish yet another PDF parsing security threat.


> I’m not a target (I think, and hopefully don’t get to be one), but nevertheless I’d feel safer with this turned on (I very rarely use FaceTime, so not accepting it is not a big deal).

Good. We need people with nothing to hide to turn Lockdown Mode on, so that Lockdown Mode isn't a telltale signal that you have something to hide.


Aside from the JIT change, those all sound like pluses to me!




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