Apple under scanner for sharing users’ browsing data with China’s Tencent

Apple Inc. came under fire on Monday for sending web browsing data, including IP addresses, to China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd., the latest criticism of how the company operates in the world’s most populous nation.

For about two years, Apple has been sending data to Tencent as part of an iPhone and iPad security feature that warns users if a website is malicious or unsafe before they load it. The U.S. company checks addresses against an existing list of sites known to be problematic. That list is maintained by Tencent for users in mainland China and by Google for other regions, including in the US.

In newer versions of Apple’s iOS operating systems, the company says this feature “may also log your IP address,” potentially providing Tencent, a Chinese internet conglomerate with government ties, data such as a user’s location.