Apple has sent a new round of alerts to customers who may have been targeted with government-grade spyware capable of breaking into their devices, according to a report published Thursday by TechCrunch. The tech giant distributed these warnings on Thursday to users in 110 countries, continuing its practice of notifying iPhone, iPad, and Mac owners when their devices might have been compromised by surveillance tools typically deployed by governments. Apple has now sent notifications to customers in more than 150 countries since it began issuing spyware alerts in 2021, illustrating how widely government-used surveillance technology has spread globally.
The company has revamped how it delivers these critical warnings to make them more urgent and actionable. Apple now sends a push notification directly to the iPhone lock screen that reads: "Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone. There are actions you can take now to protect your data and device." The company also delivers the same alert via email and through messages that appear when users log into their accounts. Apple told TechCrunch it has updated the user experience to make it simpler for recipients to access crucial information about next steps.
When users receive such a notification, the company advises them to take it seriously even though it doesn't necessarily mean their device was successfully compromised. The push notification provides guidance on who to contact for assistance and urges recipients to activate Lockdown Mode, a security feature designed to make spyware attacks far harder to execute. According to Apple, it hasn't seen a single case where a device was successfully hacked while Lockdown Mode was turned on. John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at digital research group Citizen Lab, called the new push notifications a "big improvement" in encouraging people to seek help securing their devices.
While spyware attacks remain relatively uncommon overall, the surveillance technology has proliferated in recent years and has been misused by governments and directed at critics, including civil society members. Scott-Railton explained to TechCrunch that these notifications serve a vital role in uncovering broader patterns of abuse: "Notifications create a critical signal that a community is being targeted. People get an alert, and then some of them reach out and seek help. Often this kicks off an investigation that reveals many, many more cases." He cited Poland's recent scandal involving the former government's use of spyware against political opponents, saying that without Apple's notifications, "that entire massive scandal about spyware abuse in the Polish election wouldn't have been uncovered."
The updated alert system represents Apple's attempt to close the gap between detecting a threat and getting users to protect themselves before damage occurs. By pushing the warning directly to the lock screen rather than burying it in email, the company is betting that urgency and visibility will drive action. For organizations and individuals who operate in environments where government surveillance is a risk, the notifications offer an early-warning system that can trigger investigations and reveal targeting campaigns that might otherwise go unnoticed. Enabling Lockdown Mode and reaching out to security experts remain the most effective defenses once an alert arrives. The stakes are especially high because spyware vendors continue to refine their tools, making proactive security measures the only reliable shield against compromise.