How to stop snoopy push notifications

Meta, TikTok and others are spying on you.

Author

Leander Kahney
January 29, 2024

Every time you get a popup notification from Facebook — hey, check out Aunty Edith’s cute cat pix! — the company is engaging in “aggressive” data harvesting.

Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X and many other apps are using popup notifications to spy on you.

Using notifications, these companies can gather a ton of data, including your “system uptime, locale, keyboard language, available memory, battery status, device model, display brightness, to mention a few,” according to security researchers.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to block these pernicious practices. Here’s how to do it.

Also in today’s newsletter:

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

How to block iPhone apps from using push notification tracking to spy on you

Meta, TikTok and other companies use push notification tracking. There's a simple solution for iPhone users to protect their privacy.

Apple Card Savings interest rate shoots up again, now at 4.5%

After another rate increase, money stored in Apple Card Savings accounts now earns well above the national average in annual interest.

More Messi: 2024 MLS Season Pass opens to new subscriptions

Need more Lionel Messi in your life? Now's the time to sign up for 2024 MLS Season Pass.

A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team

10-inch touchscreen car display gives you CarPlay (or Android Auto) for just $126

Add Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to any vehicle with this affordable car touchscreen. It's the easiest way to add a CarPlay display.

‘Severance’ season 2 on Apple TV+ just got a little closer

Innies and outies rejoice! Creepy-cool Apple TV+ workplace black comedy "Severance" resumes production on season two.

20-year veteran Apple VP of engineering departs

DJ Novotney started at Apple in June 1999, and now he's been lured away by electric car manufacturer Rivian.

A message from Web Oracle

How video games can help you pick a career path

For anyone looking to take their passion for video games to the next level, a variety of potential career opportunities await.

Snag a Costco membership for just $60 (and get a $20 bonus)

Save on everything from Apple Watches and MacBooks to tires and rotisserie chickens with a Costco membership, on sale now.

Get a solid iPad stylus at half the price of Apple Pencil

In the Cult of Mac Store's SwitchEasy Flash Sale, you can get 20% off your choice of two styluses and assorted writing and drawing tips.

How to scan QR codes on iPhone

You can scan and open a QR code directly from your iPhone camera — you don’t have to download a third-party app. Here are the three ways you can open them: inside the camera, using a shortcut in Control Center and directly from a screenshot in your photo library.

Today in Apple history: 'The Diesel' becomes Apple COO

On January 29, 1990, Apple CEO John Sculley appointed Michael "The Diesel" Spindler as the company's new chief operating officer.

How gamer avoids neck pain looking up at stacked Studio Displays [Setups]

A PS5 and Switch gamer with stacked Studio Displays finds looking up to be no particular pain in the neck.

Tweetz o’ the day

One more thing ...

❝

My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products. Everything else was secondary.

— Steve Jobs, 2011.

Today’s poll

How excited are you about Severance season 2?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Results from last Friday’s poll: What do you think of Apple's plans to open up iOS?

Best reader comments

Subscribe to The Weekender — Get the week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.

Join the conversation

or to participate.