Apple attacks other browser companies over privacy in new ad

New marketing comes as Google launches push to encourage users to try Chrome

(Getty Images)

Apple has attacked the privacy practices of its competitors in a new ad.

It depicts other browsers as filled with security and privacy holes. While it does not specify which companies or browsers it is taking aim at, it suggests competitors allow their users to be tracked and that they do not have sufficient protections.

It does so by depicting data companies as intrusive seagulls combined with CCTV cameras, which chase people around as they attempt to use their device.

It also points to Apple’s own privacy features, which include technologies to prevent people from being tracked between sites and other tools.

They also include what Apple says is a private browsing mode that actually keeps that data private, compared with those from other companies

Apple’s new advertising is part of a long-running series of ad campaigns that have aimed at emphasising its own privacy and security practises, and lightly highlighting the potential pitfalls of other platforms. Around the same time last year, for instance, it launched a campaign that aimed to show the danger of losing access to health data.

But the new campaign comes amid an increase fight for market share among the browser companies. Google has for instance launched its own advertising for Chrome – including some ads that aim to specifically encourage iPhone users to switch on their mobiles as well as laptops.

Other browser companies have also launched entirely new applications in recent years. A new application called Arc has become increasingly popular since it launched in 2022, for instance, and its creators The Browser Company has pointed to security and privacy as one of its selling points.

The Apple ads come after it unveiled its new software at its Worldwide Developers Conference event last month, ahead of their release this autumn. Those updates will bring new changes to Safari on the Mac as well as iPhone and iPad, many of which are aimed at further increasing privacy protections.