--- title: If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a... description: Apple sent a new round of threat notifications to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in 110 countries who may have been targeted by government-grade mercenary... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously-e8zxlp6nc twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously | daily.dev og:description: Apple sent a new round of threat notifications to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in 110 countries who may have been targeted by government-grade mercenary... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously-e8zxlp6nc og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/E8ZXlP6nc.png og:image:alt: If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously **[TechCrunch](https://daily.dev/sources/tc)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Apple sent a new round of threat notifications to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in 110 countries who may have been targeted by government-grade mercenary spyware, bringing the total to over 150 countries notified to date. The company updated the notification experience to make it easier for recipients to find guidance, including enabling Lockdown Mode, a feature Apple says has never been bypassed by spyware when active. Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton called the improved alerts a significant step, noting they often trigger investigations that uncover broader spyware abuse, citing the Polish spyware scandal as an example. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What does Apple's spyware threat notification say when you receive one? It reads: "Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone. There are actions you can take now to protect your data and device." Apple delivers this via a lock screen push notification, email, and a warning at account login, and has updated the experience to make follow-up guidance easier to access. _Stay ahead of device security threats like spyware notifications by following security coverage on daily.dev._ ### Does enabling Lockdown Mode on iPhone actually stop spyware attacks? Apple states it has not yet seen a case where a device was successfully hacked with spyware while Lockdown Mode was enabled. Lockdown Mode is a security feature Apple recommends to threat notification recipients specifically because it makes spyware attacks far more difficult to succeed. _Developers weighing mobile hardening options can track features like Lockdown Mode on daily.dev._ ### How many countries has Apple sent spyware threat notifications to? Apple has notified customers in over 150 countries to date, with the latest batch sent Thursday covering targets in 110 countries. Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton noted these notifications have previously helped uncover wider spyware abuse scandals, including the Polish government spyware case. _Anyone tracking the scale of government spyware abuse can follow ongoing security reporting on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [How to Detect & Block Spyware Before It Hits You](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-detect-block-spyware-before-it-hits-you-2gw2crh3d) · Medium · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [You've been targeted by government spyware. Now what?](https://daily.dev/posts/you-ve-been-targeted-by-government-spyware-now-what--qpbdfx5tf) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Apple says no one using Lockdown Mode has been hacked with spyware](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-says-no-one-using-lockdown-mode-has-been-hacked-with-spyware-80hetirqh) · Hacker News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Apple alerts exploit developer that his iPhone was targeted with government spyware](https://daily.dev/posts/apple-alerts-exploit-developer-that-his-iphone-was-targeted-with-government-spyware-vadlauxk2) · TechCrunch · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#apple](https://daily.dev/tags/apple), [#ios](https://daily.dev/tags/ios) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously-e8zxlp6nc) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously-e8zxlp6nc","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously-e8zxlp6nc"},"datePublished":"2026-08-13T21:50:20.740Z","dateModified":"2026-08-20T16:36:10.328Z","description":"Apple sent a new round of threat notifications to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users in 110 countries who may have been targeted by government-grade mercenary...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/6d9eea00e04959be5470b46826094245?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/6d9eea00e04959be5470b46826094245?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCrunch","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCrunch","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tc","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously-e8zxlp6nc","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security,apple,ios","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCrunch","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tc"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"If Apple sends you a push notification alerting you to a spyware attack, take it seriously"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/if-apple-sends-you-a-push-notification-alerting-you-to-a-spyware-attack-take-it-seriously-e8zxlp6nc#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does Apple's spyware threat notification say when you receive one?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It reads: \"Apple detected a mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone. 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