To use or not to use Norton products for iPads?

Does Apple recommend the use of Norton products for iPad?

iPad Pro, iPadOS 17

Posted on Jul 25, 2024 4:52 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 25, 2024 4:58 PM

Apple does not recommend third party apps of any kind. It's not their job to promote other businesses.


But no, absolutely do not waste your money on such junk. Your iPad does not need Norton, or any other kind of AV software, VPN, or similar.

6 replies

Jul 26, 2024 3:59 PM in response to mom2501

There are no true Antivirus Products available for iOS/iPadOS. Those that claim to provide AV protection are little more than “snake oil”, have negligible (if any benefit) and for Apple devices should generally be avoided. Very often, Apps of this nature introduce more issues than added benefit.


Unlike traditional Operating Systems with which you may be familiar, iOS/iPadOS uses a sandboxed security architecture. As such, Apps cannot access any data outside of their own sandbox - and cannot access the storage and resources of other Apps. As such, it is impossible for an Anti-Virus App to scan the filesystem.


For iOS/iPadOS, the Norton 360 App employs a potentially dubious network proxy - that attempts to intercept and examine network traffic.


While Norton and similar Apps have limited benefit, there are useful security enhancements and mitigations that can add security to your device - such as adding a good content/ad-blocking product (e.g., 1Blocker) - and use a security-focused DNS provider (e.g., Quad9) and encrypted DNS transport protocols (DoH, oDoH, DoT).

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

To use or not to use Norton products for iPads?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.