Last October, Google launched its Advanced Protection Program for users who want to ensure the highest degree of protection for the data they store in services Gmail, Google Calendar and Drive. Users who need that kind of protection can opt into this program, but in return, they have to use security keys for the 2-step verification and can only access their Google data from Google’s own web and mobile apps.
Today, Google is opening up this last restriction a bit by opening up access through Apple’s own native iOS apps like Mail, Calendar and Contacts apps. Users in the Advanced Protection program can now choose to give those apps access to their data, too. When they sign in
“Our goal is to make sure that any user-facing an increased risk of online attacks enrolls in the Advanced Protection Program,” Dario Salice, Google’s product manager for this services, writes. “Today, we’ve made it easier for our iOS users to be in the program, and we’ll continue our work to make the program more easily accessible to users around the globe.”
Like before, the program is meant mostly for those users who are most likely to become the victim of a sophisticated attack, including journalists, activists, politicians and business leaders. By supporting Apple’s own native apps, the service will likely be attractive to a wider audience now. For some reason, not everybody loves Google own mobile apps, after all.
