apple Prepares iPhones to Share Notifications with Third-Party Devices Amid EU Mandate
Apple is laying the groundwork to comply with upcoming European Union regulations requiring the tech giant to allow third-party devices to access iPhone users’ notifications, introducing a new interface in the latest iOS 26.3 beta. The move comes as a direct response to the Digital Markets act, a sweeping set of rules designed to curb the power of large tech companies and promote competition.
The EU’s mandate, a significant point of contention with Apple, centers on enabling external devices to display notifications forwarded from iPhones. apple has voiced concerns that this practice poses a significant privacy and security threat, as it woudl expose sensitive user data – including messages, emails, and medical alerts – to companies beyond Apple’s current security perimeter.
“This data includes the content of a user’s messages, emails, medical alerts, and any other notifications a user receives. And it would reveal data to other companies that currently, even Apple can’t access,” a senior official stated.
Despite these reservations, Apple has been proactively developing solutions since iOS 26.1. The latest beta, iOS 26.3, introduces a dedicated Notification Forwarding interface located within the Settings app under Notifications. This interface allows users to select a third-party device to receive forwarded notifications from their iPhone.
The functionality is built upon a new AccessoryNotifications public framework, currently undocumented on apple’s Developer portal due to the absence of a released iOS 26.3 SDK. Once the SDK is available, developers will be able to fully integrate with the system, offering users granular control over which apps can forward notifications to their chosen accessory – mirroring the per-app notification settings already available on the Apple Watch.
However, Apple’s initial implementation includes a key limitation: Notification Forwarding will only support one accessory at a time. According to Apple,”notifications will not appear on Apple Watch while Notification Forwarding is turned on.” This restriction suggests Apple is attempting to carefully manage the potential security implications of widespread notification sharing.
During the configuration process, Apple will inform users that forwarded notifications will include the app name and all notification content. Notably,the company is stopping short of explicitly framing the feature as a potential privacy or security risk,instead focusing on transparency regarding the data being shared.
The rollout of Notification Forwarding marks a significant shift in Apple’s traditionally closed ecosystem, driven by external regulatory pressure.it remains to be seen how users will adopt the feature and whether Apple will address the single-accessory limitation in future updates. The implementation will undoubtedly be closely scrutinized by both privacy advocates and competitors as the EU’s Digital Markets Act takes full effect.
