IOS 14.5 to let mask-wearing users open iPhones with Apple Watch

Also included in the iOS 14.5 developer version is the new App Tracking Transparency feature that asks users whether they want to opt-in so that they can be tracked by third-party apps and continue to receive tracked ads on their phone. "These prompts will appear on Apple users' screens immediately before the Apple pop-up appears", adds the report.

Apple appears to be working on a new feature that will help users unlock their iPhone models with Apple Watch, even while wearing a mask. To be clear, refusing to allow Facebook to suck up a bunch of data about you will still allow it to show you ads - they just won't be personalised. "Gift cards, certificates, vouchers, and coupons which can be redeemed for digital goods or services can only be sold in your app using in-app purchase", it said. "This won't give us access to new types of information", the notification reads.

Its introduction will mean that Facebook will be prevented from collecting and tracking data such as e-mail and IP addresses that it now uses for personalised advertising by default, unless users choose to opt in.

Last week Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Apple one of his company's biggest competitors and claimed the changes coming in iOS 14 would hurt millions of businesses around the world. Absent here, of course, is any mention of the fact that data collection is key to Facebook's own business and that of its many brands and products.

"At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement - the longer the better - and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible", Cook said. That could affect the company's core ad business and lead to a 7% revenue hit in the second quarter of 2021. This is because investors are anxious that Apple's privacy changes will significantly affect Facebook's future performance.