EFF: How Push Notifications Can Betray Your Privacy (and What to Do About It)

Incident Summary

Push notifications on phones can reveal sensitive personal information, raising privacy concerns about how government investigators access related data. In response, Apple and Google have changed their policies to require court orders before disclosing push notification details to authorities. This affects users whose push notification data could otherwise be requested during investigations. Limited public details are available on the scope of requests or what specific push notification details are covered beyond the court-order requirement.

Incident Details

Type

Regulatory Action

Severity

HIGH

Status

ACTIVE

Date Occurred

April 16, 2026

External Sources

• https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/how-push-notifications-can-betray-your-privacy-and-what-do-about-it