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Google's hacking protection tools now keep native iOS apps safe

The Advanced Protection Program is no longer limited to Google apps.

Google's Advanced Protection Program can be extremely valuable if you're a high-profile hacking target who's willing to trade a ton of convenience for some extra peace of mind. However, you've had to use Google's apps to get that protection -- and that's a pain on iOS, where you have to download Google's apps. Or rather, you did. As of now, people enrolled in the program can use iOS' native calendar, contact and email apps rather than having to shake up their smartphone habits. If you log in to your Google account with any of those apps, you'll get special instructions for completing the sign-in process.

The list of supported apps across platforms will "continue to expand," Google added.

The APP is effectively to the hacks that defined the 2016 US presidential election, but it's ultimately intended for anyone who sees intrusions as a very real possibility, not just politicians or celebrities. And that makes this expansion particularly important. Many everyday iPhone owners don't want to (or wouldn't immediately know how to) switch apps just to bolster their security, and Google's change spares them that trouble.