“In some instances, they also might acquire unencrypted content, which could range from backend derivatives for the app to the actual text displayed to a user in the app notifications,” says Wyden’s letter.
Now, one might wonder why Google and Apple are being asked to unveil these shady snooping practices. Well, unlike a regular notification app sent by an app, push notifications follow a special protocol and need to pass through Apple and Google’s servers before they appear on a person’s phone. Wyden says governments can compel these companies to furnish them with information about these push notifications. There’s little reason to believe that they don’t oblige.
Apple recently confirmed that it works with law enforcement agencies to furnish them with useful data with due process involved, such as a subpoena or court order. However, as Apple notes in its statement on the legal process, it was stopped from informing users about spying by government agencies. The U.S. senator has asked the DOJ to allow Google and Apple to tell their customers when and how push notifications are being used to keep an eye on them for surveillance.
Cybersecurity giant Avast also warned that push notifications are particularly effective on smartphones, as they can seamlessly masquerade as standard system alerts admire missed calls or new text messages. Wyden recently also exposed how AT&T was allowing mass-scale surveillance of citizens courtesy of the “Hemisphere Project.”
