Private Cloud Compute sets a new standard for privacy in artificial intelligence
Apple announced new updates across its platforms that help empower users and keep them in control of their data. Private Cloud Compute extends the industry-leading protections of iPhone to the cloud, so that users don’t have to choose between powerful intelligence grounded in their personal context and strong privacy protections. Apple also raised the bar for privacy with new features, such as locked and hidden apps, aimed at helping users protect sensitive areas of their phones. Apple introduced additional features designed with privacy and security in mind, including categorization in Mail, Messages via satellite, and presenter preview.
“Private Cloud Compute allows Apple Intelligence to process complex user requests with groundbreaking privacy,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “We’ve extended iPhone’s industry-leading security to the cloud, with what we believe is the most advanced security architecture ever deployed for cloud AI at scale. Private Cloud Compute uses your data only to fulfill your request, and never stores it, making sure it’s never accessible to anyone, including Apple. And we’ve designed the system so that independent experts can verify these protections.”
Superior Privacy for AI Capabilities
Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system that puts powerful generative models right at the core of iPhone, iPad, and Mac, makes a user’s most personal devices even more useful and delightful.
A cornerstone of Apple Intelligence is on-device processing, which delivers personal intelligence without collecting users’ data. In those times when a user needs models that are larger than what can fit in their pocket today, Private Cloud Compute allows Apple Intelligence to flex and scale its computational capacity, drawing on larger, server-based models to handle more complex requests, all while protecting user privacy.
When a user makes a request, Apple Intelligence analyzes whether it can be processed on device. If it needs greater computational capacity, it can draw on Private Cloud Compute, which will send only the data that is relevant to the task to be processed on Apple silicon servers. When requests are routed to Private Cloud Compute, data is not stored or made accessible to Apple, and is only used to fulfill the user’s requests.
The Apple silicon servers that form the foundation of Private Cloud Compute provide unprecedented cloud security. This starts with the Secure Enclave, which protects critical encryption keys on the server just as it does on a user’s iPhone, while Secure Boot ensures the OS running on the server is signed and verified, just like in iOS. Trusted Execution Monitor makes sure only signed and verified code runs, and attestation enables a user’s device to securely verify the identity and configuration of a Private Cloud Compute cluster before sending a request. And to verify Apple’s privacy promise, independent experts can inspect the code that runs on Private Cloud Compute servers.
More Privacy Features Designed to Empower Users
Locked and hidden apps give users peace of mind that others won’t inadvertently see something unintended when showing their screen to someone else, or handing them their device. Users can lock an app to protect its contents from view, or hide an app to help prevent others from seeing it. When a user locks an app, if someone tries to tap it, they will be required to authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. For additional privacy, a user can also hide an app, moving it to a locked, hidden apps folder that requires Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode to open.
Above, image credited to Apple
