The hidden feature of iOS 16 can determine whether you are human or machine without having to fill out a CAPTCHA.
Apple’s upcoming operating system for iPhones, iOS 16, was first revealed at the Worldwide Developers Conference. Shortly thereafter, it launched into beta, which is open to iPhone app developers. That was around two weeks ago. It took about that long to discover one of the probably most useful features and on Reddit was presented.
iOS 16 presented
The biggest innovations Release & Beta
Granted, it’s something hidden in the settings, but it could make iPhone users’ life a lot easier. The Reddit user has the feature at Apple ID
then Password & Security
found in the advanced settings. It’s called Automatic Verification
and the description reads as follows:
Bypass CAPTCHAs in apps and on the web by allowing iCloud to automatically and privately verify your device and account.
This is what the option looks like in the smartphone menu. Source: Reddit
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How automatic verification works
In plain language, this means that your iPhone with iOS 16 can automatically answer so-called CAPTCHAs. These are the small puzzles where you have to click on all the pictures with a traffic light, for example, or enter a combination of words and numbers correctly. The purpose of these CAPTCHAs is to verify that you are actually a human. Apple’s new feature has a different approach to solving this.
Apple explains this in a 13-minute video on its developer page. The system works with so-called private access tokens. These tokens can be read by servers that perform these CAPTCHAs and verify that this is a real person’s device. However, the server only recognizes this through the token, it does not know which person is involved in the verification. This is how your data should remain protected.
In other words: The server can see that the Apple ID associated with the iPhone, iPad or MacBook is valid without knowing which person it is. Apple is also taking a step towards Nintendo with iOS 16 by allowing iPhones to support JoyCons. But that could only be the harbinger of further developments.
Soon also with iOS 16: The iPhone 13
Where is the technology used?
At the moment it is still unclear on which websites and in which apps Apple’s technology will be used. Companies running apps and websites must support the feature from their end. The providers Fastly and Cloudflare have already announced support for Private Access Tokens.
Automatic verification will make it easier for you to verify online that you are actually human without revealing your identity. But that’s just one of many features that iOS 16 will bring to iPhones in the fall.
What do you think of the automatic verification? Do CAPTCHAs get on your nerves or do they not bother you much in everyday life? Do you see a future for technology? Please let us know!
