Apple has now released iOS 26.1. All eligible iPhone users are urged to update now, with a raft of critical new security fixes mixed in with enhancements to Liquid Glass, Alarms and Apple Music. Go to Settings > General > Software Update. Do this now.
Ironically, Apple’s most critical update changes the very process of updating your iPhone itself. Background Security Improvements, Apple says, “delivers additional security protections between software updates.”
These are “lightweight security releases for components such as the Safari browser, WebKit framework stack and other system libraries that benefit from smaller, ongoing security patches between software updates.”
This means not waiting for more substantial releases. It enables Apple to silently apply fixes as soon as they’re available. “Background Security Improvements is supported and enabled for future releases starting with iOS 26.1,” and you’ll still find details “on the Apple Support site after each release – along with CVE details, if any.”
You can find this new option under Settings > Privacy & Security > Security Improvements. It’s a simple toggle. Either on or off. It should already be on. If not, my advice is to toggle the switch to on. Do not stop these updates.
It’s unclear how often this will be used — but I’d hope frequently, especially with the specific spyware vulnerabilities we’ve seen affecting Safari and some shared libraries. It’s also unclear whether you’ll be prompted to restart your device each time.
As I’ve commented before, I’d like to see more of this for both iPhone and Android users, without the continuous rigmarole of awaiting updates and then pushing users to instal. It’s much more laborious situation for Android users, with OEMs sometimes waiting weeks before deploying Google’s Android fixes to their users.
While Google has recently claimed Androids are safer than iPhones, it’s this type of security innovation that iPhone users welcome. The onus is now on Google and especially Samsung to provide more of the same.
