Government Spying via Apple, Google Push Notifications: US Senator

In a recent letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden warned that unidentified foreign governments are surveilling smartphone users through data collected from app push notifications.

Push notifications have become a common way for apps to alert users to new messages, updates, and other information. However, Wyden says almost all push notifications are routed through servers owned by Google and Apple, giving these companies insight into how users interact with apps.

The senator claims foreign officials have demanded this push notification data from Google and Apple. Although few specifics were provided, the letter outlines a new potential means for governments to track smartphones without users' knowledge or consent.

In response, Apple acknowledged in a statement that the U.S. government had previously restricted them from publicly discussing push notification surveillance requests. The company will now update its transparency reporting to include these types of data demands.

According to a source familiar with the matter, foreign allies and domestic agencies have asked Apple and Google for metadata from push notifications to tie anonymous users to identification info like accounts. The source declined to name which foreign governments but described them as democracies. It remains to be seen how long these surveillance practices have been ongoing.

Experts have warned push notifications could enable widespread privacy issues and government monitoring if deployed without user awareness of how their data flows through tech giants' servers.