Privacy

Hardly a week goes by in which we don't hear about a major breach in cyber security, be it stolen credit card data from a major retailer like Target or Home Depot, to leaked personal data, like the celebrity photo leak on iCloud or the Sony Pictures hack. We've all heard about stolen identities and the nightmare the victims go through to get them back, constant attempts of corporate espionage, and cases of private citizens being surveilled under dubious circumstances and cyber stalking and bullying dramas seem to be a staple of both the Lifetime channel and the local news.

Web browsers are always collecting information, and Safari on iOS devices is no different. iPhone owners interested in enhancing privacy can use private browsing when opening a new Safari tab. But what about all of the cookies, browsing history, login data and other files that accumulate during a normal web session? There are two places in iOS where this information stored by Safari can be manually deleted at any time.

Unlocking the iPhone normally brings up whatever app was open when the sleep/wake button was pressed. Sometimes this is a problem, because whatever activity, video or music that was last displayed will still be opened upon unlock. Eclair gives jailbreakers more control over what appears when the device is first unlocked.

To improve privacy, Eclair can prevent the last used app from appearing at all. It works by hiding or terminating the app automatically when the device is locked. Once installed, there's a toggle to enable the tweak in Settings, along with some options to configure. Besides the option to hide or kill an open app after lock, Eclair is capable of always opening the SpringBoard home page at unlock.

Some might say that privacy is nonexistent in the digital age, however Apple may beg to differ. The iPhone and iOS 8 provide many options to limit sharing and ostensibly increase privacy on these mobile devices. Privacy settings are a matter of personal preference, and making sure the Settings are configured to your liking will prevent any surprises.

Those who are not concerned about location or data sharing will find the default iOS 8 settings work fine. Others will want to look at these must-have privacy settings for iOS 8 to determine what makes them comfortable. Arguably the most often used and most intrusive technology on the iPhone involves location sharing, thanks to built-in GPS. So accordingly the list of top 10 privacy settings for the iPhone and iOS 8 starts here:

Are you concerned that your iPhone or iPad apps are collecting personal data without your permission? Now thanks to a new app called Clueful you can safeguard your privacy and see exactly what your iOS apps are doing. Some apps track location, use your address book, send your credentials out unencrypted, and/or track usage.

Some functions in these apps can even keep your GPS or audio services running unnecessarily, which can drain your battery. Many apps ask for personal data they don't need, or in some cases link your behavior to a real identity such as a Facebook page.