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Apple Already in Trouble for iOS 18 “Web Eraser” Tool

By Laura Tucker
Ios 18 Web Eraser Featured

Apple will be introducing its new operating systems to the world next month, yet already, one of its expected features is gathering fury. French advertisers and media groups are asking Apple to not roll out the iOS 18 feature, “Web Eraser.”

What Is iOS 18 Web Eraser?

When Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off on June 10, it’s expected that there will be new versions of macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS introduced, with the operating systems seeing their official releases in September. “Web Eraser” is expected to be part of iOS 18.

At this point, with only rumors to go on, it’s unknown how the AI tool will be “erasing” the Web and what part of it will be erased. There are some that assume it will include browsing history, cached webpage data, cookies, etc., related to your browsing experiencing on Safari. Erasing this information would allow you to have less worries about someone coming across your personal information. Safari wouldn’t be able to send you personalized ads, so advertisers would surely lose money in the process.

Ios 18 Web Eraser Green
Image source: Unsplash

However, there are others who believe that the iOS 18 Web Eraser tool doesn’t refer to your personal data on Safari but elements on web pages. When browsing, you could “erase” any part of a web page, including ads, text, and images. If any of that information bothers you, you would just erase it and not have to see it again. Safari would remember your choices and never show you those ads, images, or text again.

Frankly, both versions of what this tool could be sound appealing to the average person browsing the Web. However, both would also lead to notable problems for web publishers and advertisers.

The Impact of iOS 18 Web Eraser

Again, the feature isn’t even released yet – or even introduced – yet, it’s causing controversy. Web publishers and advertisers are already cringing, especially with Google and AI not being very kind to them so far.

Google’s algorithm is the formula or set of rules that it uses to determine the relevance and quality of web pages in response to a user’s search query. Each update to this algorithm can bring about significant changes to the way websites are ranked on Google’s search result pages. The changes in the past year have tanked website rankings for some sites. These sites are already reeling, trying to figure out how to pick up and move on.

Ios 18 Web Eraser Pencil
Image source: Unsplash

That means, if Apple releases iOS 18 with the Web Eraser feature, web publishers and advertisers could feel like the Cupertino company is beating a dead horse. With some websites already limping, it could take out their other leg. And that would be regardless of which version Web Eraser will resemble.

Because of this, a group of advertisers, publishers, agencies, and advertisers signed a letter addressed to Tim Cook, the Apple CEO, pleading with him to not include the Web Eraser feature when iOS 18 is released in the fall. But again, all of this is speculation. While there are some very good Apple rumor mills that produce truth after truth, this French group could be reacting to something that is much more benign. Perhaps it won’t have a big impact on web publishers and advertisers after all. But we’ll have to wait until the WWDC that begins on June 10 to find out.

If you’re worried about your safety on Safari even before the announcement, learn how to make using the browser on iOS even safer with SafaShield.

Image credit: Unsplash

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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