Apple now requires a judge's approval before releasing push notification data

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has said that it would now require a judge's order to send over information about its customers' push notifications to law enforcement, bringing the iPhone maker's policy in line with rival Google and raising the bar for officials to cross in order to obtain app data about users.

The new policy was not formally publicized, but it did emerge on Apple's publicly available law enforcement guidelines in the last few days. It comes after Oregon Senator Ron Wyden revealed that officials were requesting such information from Apple as well as Google, the unit of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) that creates the Android operating system.

Push notifications are used by apps of various types to notify smartphone users of incoming messages, breaking news, and other updates. These are the auditory "dings" or visual cues that customers receive when an email arrives or their sports team wins a game. What many people don't realize is that practically all such notifications are sent through Google and Apple's servers.

Wyden stated in a letter seen by Reuters last week that the practice provided the two businesses with "unique insight into traffic flowing from those apps to users," placing them "in a unique position to facilitate government surveillance of how users are using particular apps."

Both Apple and Google admitted receiving such inquiries. Apple amended its rules to state that such information was available "with a subpoena or greater legal process." The passage has been amended to reflect stricter warrant requirements.

Apple issued no official statement. Google did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

According to Wyden, Apple is "doing the right thing by matching Google and requiring a court order to hand over push notification related data."