Apple now requires court orders in U.S. to access push notification data

WASHINGTON (AP) — Apple is now requiring that U.S. law enforcement agencies obtain a court order for information on its customers’ push notifications — the alerts iPhone apps send users that can reveal a lot about their online activity. The policy shift was not formally announced but rather appeared in an updated version of law enforcement guidelines posted online by Apple. The Cupertino, California, company’s main competitor in mobile operating systems, Google, already had such a policy in place. The stricter new Apple requirement follows last week’s disclosure by Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden that his office received a tip that government agencies in unnamed foreign countries were demanding push notification records from the two companies.