Apple, please give us more control over the privacy of iPhone Mirroring

For me iPhone mirroring has been one of the most useful improvements of Apple ecosystem in recent years, and it’s something I use on a daily basis.

However, while I fully understand Apple’s focus on privacy protection, for my use the way it currently works is just annoying…

iPhone mirroring

I’m a fan of individual Apple devices, but one of the main reasons I’ve stayed loyal to the company on a variety of devices over the years is the strength of the company’s ecosystem.

Shared access to iCloud documents on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Continuity features like Universal Clipboard. Automatic synchronization of notes, photos, calendars, bookmarks, passwords, messages, etc. AirDrop. Personal hotspot … and much more.

For me, iPhone mirroring was a valuable addition to the ecosystem. As a Mac first guy who spends quite a few hours a day sitting at a desk, I actually keep iPhone Mirroring open all day. I just appreciate the convenience of interacting with just a single device, and there are some iPhone-only apps that I love being able to use on my Mac.

I had suspected that this was a rather strange usage pattern, almost unique to me, but checking with my colleagues, I’m not the only one who does this.

Apple’s privacy protection is understandable

iPhone Mirroring is a potentially very dangerous feature in situations like abusive relationships, and so it’s no surprise that Apple has been extremely careful when it comes to privacy.

You can use iPhone Mirroring only when the iPhone is locked. As far as I can see, the main reason for this is to prevent passive snooping and the ability to display an alert that the feature is in use. It also displays a notification on the iPhone afterwards, stating that the function THERE has been used.

You can choose between asking for authentication each time the feature is used or automatic authentication. But even if you choose the latter, it will require the iPhone passcode to be entered into the iPhone itself relatively often.

iPhone mirroring also switches very aggressively when running in the background. At first I thought this was a battery protection measure, but it happens just as often when my iPhone is sitting on the MagSafe charger on my desk and my Mac is also running on power.

But I would like more control

All of these protections make a lot of sense by default, but can be annoying when you use the feature every day the way I do. What I wish Apple would do is allow us more control over privacy protection.

What I would like (as optional settings) is the ability to:

• Use the feature whether my iPhone is locked or not
• Always ask for Face ID instead of my password (unless my phone is rebooted)
• Never finish unless my Mac goes to sleep.

Is this something you also want to see? Please take our survey and share your thoughts in the comments.

Image: 9to5Mac collage of images from Apple and J Lee IN Remove the spray