- Push notification records can reveal detailed insights about individual smartphone users, and foreign governments are allegedly spying by compelling Apple and Google to hand over this data.
- Push notification data shows which apps people use and when, linking notifications to specific devices and accounts. This reveals usage patterns and habits.
- Senator Ron Wyden says Apple and Google should be allowed to be more transparent about demands for data, particularly from foreign governments, but current policies prohibit this.
Push notifications like news alerts, emails, and social media alerts travel through Apple‘s and Google‘s servers. These notifications can reveal unique insights about how individual people use particular apps. According to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, foreign governments are spying on smartphone users by compelling Apple and Google to turn over push notification records.
What Information Can Push Notifications Reveal?
Push notification records can reveal which app received a notification when it was received, the phone and Apple or Google account that the notification was delivered to, and in some cases the unencrypted text displayed in the notification. Since this data travels through Apple’s and Google’s servers, governments can force the companies to hand it over.
U.S. Policies on Releasing Push Notification Data
In the United States, information about push notification records cannot be released to the public. Senator Wyden says Apple and Google should be allowed to be transparent about legal demands received, particularly from foreign governments. Wyden has asked the Department of Justice to repeal or modify any policies that prevent this transparency.
Foreign Governments’ Spying
Wyden did not specify which foreign governments have asked Apple and Google for push notification records. However, his office investigated a tip from last year alleging government agencies have demanded this data to connect anonymous messaging app users to specific accounts. Sources confirmed U.S. and foreign agencies have made these requests.
Apple and Google Respond
An Apple spokesperson said they are now updating transparency reports to detail these kinds of requests. A Google spokesperson said they share Wyden’s commitment to transparency, as they were the first major company to publish a transparency report. The Department of Justice declined to comment.
