# Apple Gave Governments Data on Thousands of Push Notifications Source: https://www.404media.co/apple-gave-governments-data-on-thousands-of-push-notifications Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/Apple-Gave-Governments-Data-on-Thousands-of-Push-Notifications?index=0x6840bd29a96563dd786287fe6ec6781b62c4994f3576514e4aed9556c6aa6802027341e9 Submitted by misha on 2025-06-04 UTC, 1 upvote, 1 comment ## Summary Apple provided governments around the world with data on thousands of push notifications sent to its devices, according to data the company published. Such data can identify a target's specific device and, in some cases, include unencrypted content such as the text shown in the notification. In one case that Apple did not ultimately fulfill, Israel demanded data on nearly 700 push notifications in a single request. The practice first came to light in 2023, when Senator Ron Wyden wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice, noting that it also applied to Google. ## Article Apple provided governments around the world with data related to thousands of push notifications sent to its devices, which can identify a target’s specific device or in some cases include unencrypted content like the actual text displayed in the notification, according to data published by Apple. In one case, that Apple did not ultimately provide data for, Israel demanded data related to nearly 700 push notifications as part of a single request. The data for the first time puts a concrete figure on how many requests governments around the world are making, and sometimes receiving, for push notification data from Apple. The practice first came to light in 2023 when Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice revealing the practice, which also applied to Google. As the letter said, “the data these two companies receive includes metadata, detailing which app received a notification and when, as well as the phone and associated Apple or Google account to which that notification was intended to be delivered. In certain instances, they also might also receive unencrypted content, which could range from backend directives for the app to the actual text displayed to a user in an app notification.” This post is for paid members only Become a paid member for unlimited ad-free access to articles, bonus podcast content, and more. Subscribe Sign up for free access to this post Free members get access to posts like this one along with an email round-up of our week's stories. Subscribe Already have an account? Sign in ## Comments **misha**: To protect against government surveillance of push notifications, turning off notifications can help, but well you won’t have any notifications ;) But also use privacy-focused messaging apps that implement their own notification systems and use end-to-end encryption for metadata like for example Signal with notification privacy settings enabled.