How to see everything Apple knows about you
Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2018 04:41:00 -0700
Apple has at last introduced a new tool that lets you request and download everything the company knows about you, including all the data it gathers and retains when using the company’s retail outlets, iCloud, apps, products and services.
In part, Apple has made this information available to bring it into line with Europe’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) legislation, laws designed to better protect individual privacy in an online age.
Google, Facebook, Twitter and almost every other company has also had to introduce these tools, making it far easier for users to compare the quantity and depth of information these unconstrained corporations hold about them.
This is particularly necessary following the revelations that company’s such as Cambridge Analytica have been using access to such data in political campaigning.
Unlike most industry peers, Apple has always argued for strong customer privacy.
“We’ve never believed that these detailed profiles of people, that have incredibly deep personal information that is patched together from several sources, should exist,” Apple CEO TimCook recently said. They can be “abused against our democracy.”
Apple doesn’t keep anything like the same quantity of personal data as its competitors. The information it does keep is frequently anonymized, it doesn’t keep location data, but does keep hold of information concerning apps and other digital products you purchase. It holds lists of all the books, music, movies and in-app purchases, and also tracks when you update apps. You’ll also find it lists all your iTunes Match-stored tracks. Information it keeps includes:
Other items as noted in Apple’s Privacy Policy.
Apple states that:
“When a privacy question or access/download request is received we have a dedicated team which triages the contacts and seeks to address the specific concern or query which you are seeking to raise.”
Follow these steps to check your information:
After you file this request Apple’s privacy team will make contact to confirm who you are. They will also request some data to prove you are who you are.
Once it is satisfied that you are who you claim to be, the team will gather the data together and provide it to you as a locked zip file. The unlock passcode is provided as a separate email. The process can take up to a week.
If you find any errors in the data you can request Apple change or delete the error.
Apple warns that it, “may decline to process requests that are frivolous/vexatious, jeopardize the privacy of others, are extremely impractical, or for which access is not otherwise required by local law.”
It cannot be stressed how important your Apple ID is becoming. Not only does it enable access to all the data Apple holds about you, but it unlocks all your personal data in the cloud, from images to emails, documents and more. Given the presence of devices to hack data from your iOS devices and the constancy of cybercrime, I cannot stress enough the need to use complex passcodes.
Apple as a company has an extensive privacy governance structure as described in this document. Apple’s privacy policies, tools, and reports are described in much more detail at the Privacy section of its website.
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