If you haven't already upgraded to iOS 6, chances are, you will soon. Apple has reportedly fixed 197 different security vulnerabilities found in the previous iOS 5 release in addition to adding a host of new privacy and security settings and features.
Let's take a look at some of the new iOS 6 security and privacy features that you might be interested in:
The New Privacy Settings Configurations Pane
More of a new way of organizing your privacy settings options than a new feature, the all new privacy settings pane in the system settings app consolidates your privacy settings for Location Services, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Photos, Bluetooth Sharing, and system-wide Facebook and Twitter integration.
The new privacy settings pane serves as a sort of application permissions firewall, allowing you to decide which 3rd-party apps can have access to information residing in your core iOS applications such as Calendar and Contacts.
The new way in which these settings are organized should help users get a clearer picture of what they are sharing and what they might want to reconsider sharing with non-native applications.
Do Not Disturb with Selective Call Acceptance
One of the most hyped features of iOS 6 has been the new 'Do Not Disturb' feature. Think of it as a firewall for people you don't want to talk to, or perhaps, think of it as an electronic version of that bouncer that works the velvet rope entrance to a night club, only letting in people that are 'on the list'.
This feature finally allows you to get some peace and quiet for however long you choose to have 'Do Not Disturb' enabled. It will also allow you to selectively accept calls from important people such as your spouse or your boss while everyone else is screened out. You can setup who gets 'on the list' in the 'notifications' pane in the settings app under the 'Do Not Disturb' section. Just click on 'Allow Calls From' and then choose who you want to allow through.
Find My iPhone's New 'Lost Mode'
The new 'Lost Mode' feature in iOS 6's Find My iPhone app allows you to lock a missing iPhone with a passcode, send a message displaying a contact number of your choice, and allows the person who finds your iPhone to call you from the lock screen without letting them into your phone (all they can do is call your contact number).
Find My Friends Geo-fences
The Find My Friends app adds location-based alerts that allow you to establish geo-fences for your friends and family (providing they use Find My Friends on their devices and give you permission to see their locations). Parents will love this feature because it can be setup to alert them when their iPhone-equipped child leaves a predetermined area (such as school) and/or enters a predetermined area (such as home). Kids will undoubtedly hate this new feature and will likely do everything they can to try and circumvent it.
Geo-fence Use Notification
Speaking of geo-fences, are your apps using GPS-based geo-fences to tell when you've left one zone and entered another? Siri uses this feature for location-based reminders and other apps such as the Find My Friends app, and Alarm.com's home alarm system control and monitoring app use this feature as well.
In previous versions of iOS, there was no way of telling when an app was using your location for geo-fence purposes. Now, there is a new purple outline GPS status bar indicator that shows geo-fence activity. You can also check the 'location services' settings section and see if any app has used your geo-fence activity information in the last 24 hours (the app will have the compass icon by its name if it has been using location services in the last 24 hours).
Check out Apple's iOS 6 site for additional iOS 6 features.
