Apple highlights Safari privacy in yet another themed iPhone ad (video)

Apple's newest iPhone ad basically picks up where the last one left off a couple of weeks back, focusing on something that wasn't as strongly highlighted in marketing materials for previous generations. Of course, many of Tim Cook's interviews and relatively rare public appearances over the years have been about the security and privacy of iOS and macOS users, which Apple's CEO repeatedly deemed more important than anything. Yes, even profits (allegedly).

As more and more everyday consumers seem to be paying attention to the insidious ways Facebook collects data from users of the world's largest social network, this feels like a pretty good time for Apple to remind people of Safari's privacy-focused features. The web browser that comes pre-loaded on your iPhone is capable of "limiting sites from tracking you across the web", claims a 30-second new commercial, ensuring "what you browse" remains "your business" and your business only.

The ad makes its point by starring a 15-year-old hesitant about dealing with a certain hairy situation and, presumably, insecure about whether or not he should search for the answer to his dilemma online. That's a pretty tame way to tackle such a complex and controversial issue as online privacy, but ultimately, the important thing is to send the right message... and prominently feature the iPhone XR in the process.

That being said, the longer ad uploaded to Apple's YouTube channel earlier this month under the subtitle "Private Side" was far more entertaining, getting its point across even clearer as it focused on many different areas of our everyday lives where privacy is essential. No wonder the 50-second video garnered over 27 million views, while "The Answer" sits at a little over 160,000 hits at the time of this writing.

By the way, if you want to learn more about Apple's "approach to privacy" and its many tools designed to protect users against every violation trick in the book, both YouTube clips have a link in their description to a webpage dedicated to this topic.