Apple released the latest version of its iPhone operating system, iOS 18, on Monday, including several new security and privacy features. The launch comes a week after Apple unveiled new versions of the iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch. Preorders for the new iPhones began Friday and will be generally available starting September 20.

Some consumer technology experts say the new iPhone hardware is best viewed as incremental, and early data suggests demand may be sluggish, so neither the phone nor the new artificial intelligence features will necessarily lead to an upgrade supercycle. But for iPhone users, it’s worth getting familiar with the new operating system’s password manager app and the additional choices it offers over how and where their data is accessed. These include controls related to your personal and work contacts, and new ways to protect sensitive apps and related information on devices that may be shared.

Privacy experts say updates to iOS 18, which has been in public beta since July, should make it easier for consumers to understand and use available privacy protections.

“Apple continues to try to protect the privacy of its users and generally tries to make that easy for people to understand,” said Jodi Daniels, managing director and privacy advisor at Red Clover Advisors.

Here’s an overview of some new security and privacy features and how to access them.

A new password app to improve iCloud Keychain

Apple has created a separate app to store user passwords. Until now, passwords could be stored in iCloud Keychain, the password management system built into Apple devices. But a separate app makes access easier, privacy experts said.

The new app has other features to encourage good data protection practices. For example, users will be notified when passwords or account credentials may have been part of data breaches, which can be helpful in protecting against fraud. Additionally, users who have a weak password or one that has been used before will be notified so they can update those credentials.

“The overall goal is to get more people using unique passwords and better overall online security,” says Thorin Klosowski, security and privacy advocate at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit focused on privacy issues.

As before, Apple cannot access these passwords, but users can access them on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and on Windows using the iCloud for Windows app. For users of the AutoFill feature, the passwords are automatically added to the Passwords app.

Users also have quick access to categories of credentials, including verification codes, passkeys, and Wi-Fi passwords. Passwords can also be organized into common groups such as work or family.

A way to lock and hide apps

With a few exceptions, apps on the phone can be either locked or, to protect privacy, hidden at the user’s request. Basic functional apps cannot be hidden, but generally they can be hidden if they are available in the App Store, an Apple spokesperson said.

This is a useful tool because sometimes users give their phone to friends to show them photos, messages or emails, for example, or parents temporarily offer their phone to their children to play with. In all these cases, users may not want others to have unrestricted access to their phone.

When an app is in locked or hidden mode, content such as messages or emails in the app cannot be searched, and notifications will not appear. Apps can be locked and unlocked using Face ID, Touch ID (if available), or the device passcode.

Apple has also taken steps to ensure young children do not use these features to prevent parental monitoring. According to the Apple spokesperson, account holders under 13 cannot lock or hide an app. Users between 13 and 18 can use these features, but parents can still see what apps have been downloaded and how much they have been used in screen time. Apple warns children in the older age group that if they lock or hide an app, parents will still have the ability to view this information.

More control over contact sharing

In iOS 18, consumers have the ability to be more specific about how they want to share their contacts with apps. They can choose to share all, none, or only certain contacts. For example, if a person uses an app exclusively for work, they can choose to share only work-related contacts with the app. Access can be updated as desired.

When updating to iOS 18, users will be able to change their settings for apps they already use. “In practice, it will save people a little time thinking about whether they really need an app to access their contacts,” Klosowski said.

A better overview of the data that apps access

Apple users can now see at a glance how many apps have access to data such as location services, tracking, calendars, files and folders, contacts, and health information. When they tap on a specific category, users are shown a list of which apps have what access, such as limited or full.

Data protection in AI

Separately, Apple will soon launch Apple Intelligence, an artificial intelligence platform developed by Apple. Its features include on-device processing, so the company recognizes your personal data but Apple doesn’t need to collect or store it. It will also develop a new complex system based on larger server-based models to handle more complex requests while protecting user privacy.

This privacy protection may be important for users who want access to AI but are concerned about the implications of doing so, such as their private data being used to train models, which is a concern even for many AI enthusiasts.

“Having it locally on the device reduces that risk,” Daniels said.