Apple launches new privacy site to highlight iPhone and iOS 13 features by revealing how they work

iPhone maker has looked to challenge rivals like Google and Facebook on data privacy and security

A monorail train featuring a Google ad passes by a billboard advertising Apple's iPhone security during CES 2019 on January 07, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada (David Becker/Getty Images)

Apple has launched a new privacy website, intended to show off the features of its new hardware and software by revealing how they work.

The update is just the latest part of Apple's push into privacy. Bosses such as Tim Cook have stressed that the company has embraced privacy as part of its belief that it is a human right, but it has also become a key distinguishing feature against rivals like Google and Facebook.

The new website includes a variety of technical whitepapers which detail how various parts of iOS 13, the iPhone and other Apple products work to keep their users' data secure.

While Apple has long had a specific part of its website devoted to privacy – and has updated it every one of the last four years – it is the first time that it has revealed these new pages and the documents they contain.

The page focuses on a variety of Apple features, some of which were introduced in recent updates. The new refresh stresses a variety of changes that were included in the new versions of its software, which were released in September.

They include, for instance, a new tool called "Sign In With Apple". That feature allows people to register with apps and websites using their Apple ID, but without giving over identifying personal information to its developer, which Apple says helps keep that information secure and private.

Sign In With Apple is one of the various Apple features that are explained in the technical whitepaper. Apple also posted documents relating to Safari, Photos and location settings.

The page also explains the extra settings that have been added to the latest software. They include pop-ups that will appear to notify users when an app is tracking their location in the background, or may be using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to do so, and gives them an easy way to turn that off.

Last year, when Apple updated its privacy page, it gave users a simple way to download all the data that the company has collected on them.