Late last year , Apple announced the iMessage Communication Key Verification tool , which it says will allow those facing digital threats to protect their conversations from malicious people. The company promised that this security feature will be available in 2023. Shortly before WWDC 2023 kicks off, iMessage Comm Key Verification looks set to arrive with the release of iOS 16.6 .
Appears in iOS 16.6 Beta
Apple began rolling out the first beta of iOS 16.6 on Friday , and it's adding features to the version including iMessage Comm Key Verification. A new option in the Settings app shows that Apple is working on this tool. But for now it is not possible to enable Communication Key Authentication feature.
Protection against hackers
In order for iMessage Communication Key Authentication to work actively, everyone in the iMessage conversation must have this feature enabled. With this innovation, Apple will send an automatic alert when it detects that someone has added a fake device to an account. The company envisions this feature to protect people who use government-sponsored computers , such as government officials and journalists, from hackers. This feature is one of the innovations that Apple is expected to bring to iOS16 before iOS 17 .