Apple Launches New Data and Privacy Website

[DakotaGuy]

I take it you're positing these steps somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but the fact of the matter is, these are all good methods for protecting one's privacy (though the resourceful investigator might still be able to piece together some of your offline tracks). Living in this manner would not be much different than how we lived as recently as the 1980s (and some of the older among us, I am sure, still live this way).

The implication, of course, is that all these attempted circumventions in the name of privacy are terribly inconvenient – but as a general rule, I fail to agree with that argument. I am inclined to believe that many of the individuals who live in such a manner would (and do) find themselves much the better for it. No longer bombarded by information overload from digital cable or the internet, writing letters and making phone calls only to the people who really matter to him/her, taking time to actually enjoy a book, album, or drive through town; in essence, living intentionally and being able to wink at such little faults that we all have, since he/she is at peace with one's self.

Rather than see such antiquated habits as an inconvenience, I think that many of us, once we have looked beyond the haze of propaganda in modern culture, would find it a "consummation devoutly to be wished."

I did post somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but you do bring up a lot of good points. I use Apple and Google services and I am on Facebook, Twitter etc. so my privacy is already compromised. I basically have to trust those companies to keep my data secure and as we have seen Facebook has already totally messed up when it comes to securing it. However if one wanted true privacy and did not want to be "tracked" and "marketed as a product" or have any of their personal info fall into the wrong hands then going back to a pre-internet life would truly be the best option. Now of course you'd still have your data out there if you use a bank or credit cards or even go to a hospital, but you could minimize it's exposure somewhat.

 

[Superhai]

Not everyone is happy, though

Though luck for him, but I think he haven't studied the regulation properly. Or he deliberately collects information which should not be required for his business. In which case he are not playing with open cards.

 

[yockster]

when I go the website I am not seeing the option to download anything, is for Mac only? I have logged with both my original ID and the apple one.

 

[LordVic]

My advice to anyone who is very concerned about this is 1) Get a flip phone and/or landline. 2) Get a TV antenna and only watch what is broadcasted. 3) Purchase only CDs and vinyl records in a store or listen to FM or AM radio. 4) Read paper newspapers and do your research at a library by only using books and a microfiche. 5) Buy a road atlas and disable all GPS functions if your flip phone has them. 6) Send paper letters and mail all bills at the post office.

There now your privacy is fully protected!

Don't forget:

Close all your bank accounts, cut up your credit cards and points cards, and go 100% cash only.

 

[redmac]

Not if you have your Google privacy settings correct Turn off all the search history, personalized ads, watch history, etc tracking plus switch to DuckDuckGo.

You should read the The Guardian article. Google collects everything it can and even keeps your deleted data. If you want to be immune to their data collection you need to stay away from their hardware and software, and use their online products without signing in. Also remember to turn off data sharing/collection for Google products on your iPhone's privacy settings.

 

[WannaGoMac]

You should read the The Guardian article. Google collects everything it can and even keeps your deleted data. If you want to be immune to their data collection you need to stay away from their hardware and software, and use their online products without signing in. Also remember to turn off data sharing/collection for Google products on your iPhone's privacy settings.

I did it's a great article. All the links in the article come up empty for me. Settings are key for google...

 

[TheShadowKnows!]

I've been reading some articles about the data dumps you can get recently. Just in terms of sheer volume, Apple had about 9MB of data on the person, Google had 243MB, and Facebook had 881MB. I've also seen articles from heavy Android and Chrome users where Google has over 9GB of data on them.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...e-everything-had-me-heres-what-got/558362002/
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...l-the-data-facebook-google-has-on-you-privacy

The amount of stuff Google logs is incredibly creepy.

Well Ersan, Google offers the opportunity for you to find out and get the data they specifically have on you, all well-organized. No need to invoke volume "averages".

GOTO: https://www.google.com/takeout/
and sign in.

In my case, because i do not partake on social networks at all, and my only google account is for their VoIP service (no gmail, no groups, ...), my history is not creepy, and about 9MBytes, same as Apple's.

The way I see it with Google: "you reap what you seed."

Check it out.

 

[nt5672]

I take it you're positing these steps somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but the fact of the matter is, these are all good methods for protecting one's privacy (though the resourceful investigator might still be able to piece together some of your offline tracks). Living in this manner would not be much different than how we lived as recently as the 1980s (and some of the older among us, I am sure, still live this way).

The implication, of course, is that all these attempted circumventions in the name of privacy are terribly inconvenient – but as a general rule, I fail to agree with that argument. I am inclined to believe that many of the individuals who live in such a manner would (and do) find themselves much the better for it. No longer bombarded by information overload from digital cable or the internet, writing letters and making phone calls only to the people who really matter to him/her, taking time to actually enjoy a book, album, or drive through town; in essence, living intentionally and being able to wink at such little faults that we all have, since he/she is at peace with one's self.

Rather than see such antiquated habits as an inconvenience, I think that many of us, once we have looked beyond the haze of propaganda in modern culture, would find it a "consummation devoutly to be wished."

Yep. For example, I have a highly automated home, but it was automated (lights, access, thermostats, etc.) years ago. I don't have any of the neat new gadgets (cameras, smart speakers, thermostats, smart lights, etc.) that are being pushed on the market today because they all phone home. There is no reason for this, except convenience and profit for the original manufacturer. These phone home devices are more destructive to your privacy than free services. Why? Because they share information about you 24/7 whether you use them or not.

With smart lighting they (someone) knows when you get up in the morning, when you go to bed, if your home or not, etc. This is just creepy, at least to me.

 

[dk001]

You should read the The Guardian article. Google collects everything it can and even keeps your deleted data. If you want to be immune to their data collection you need to stay away from their hardware and software, and use their online products without signing in. Also remember to turn off data sharing/collection for Google products on your iPhone's privacy settings.

Checked Google's and saw what I expected. Nothing unexpected. Just stuff I have agreed to (I check and adjust my settings in Google at least yearly or if they adjust something).
Checked Facebook - nada
Checked Apple - Can't access it to see

Thanks for the reminder to read them.

 

[routine_analyst]

Agreed. It could be. That doesn't negate the fact that there could be a ton of info logged. Google logs a crap ton of info on people. A.CRAP.TON. A.HUGE.CRAP.TON. Facebook does as well. If Apple is offering file size options in GB increments, it stands to reason they already know what info they have on people. They also know that they have a lot of info on some, a little info on others, and somewhere in between on everyone else. As I said, YMMV. That true with Google and FB as well. The info they have on you will be dependent on how much you use the services.

What is a.crap.ton or a.huge.crap.ton?

 

[TheITJanitor]

What is a.crap.ton or a.huge.crap.ton?

In the UK we might say a 'shed load'...

 

[Williesleg]

Hey Apple,
All my data, photos, documents, etc. etc. (C) 2018 Williesleg, All Rights Reserved.

There. Problem solved.

 

[nfl46]

when I go the website I am not seeing the option to download anything, is for Mac only? I have logged with both my original ID and the apple one.

The data download option arrives before the GDPR deadline and is currently limited to Apple accounts registered in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, but Apple says it will roll out the service worldwide "in the coming months".

Where are you located?

 

[lec0rsaire]

Exactly, it's a business. Opt in or opt out. There is nothing necessarily wrong with Google or Facebook's approach here (although I find it creepy), it all comes down to the individual and what they personally value when it comes to this stuff. Free never means free and if you are good to give up your data for a service, so be it.

Exactly. Both companies provide services that people consider valuable to them. While they do not charge money to use their services, they get compensation for their work through selling data and showing ads. People have to decide for themselves how much information they are comfortable sharing online. They also must pay close attention to privacy settings. While it's nearly impossible to avoid giving them data, the amount can be limited.

Facebook didn't have much location information, phone call history nor my contacts because I have never given FB permission to access my contacts. When they first released their contact syncing feature I knew exactly what its purpose was. It would be nice to have pictures for all my friends but not if it means FB will have my entire address book. Same thing with Google maps. If you don't want Google collecting your info, then never sign in! If you don't want FB to have all of the private stuff you talk about, don't talk about sensitive stuff through Messenger. They save everything you write or send in Messenger. Everything! Use iMessage, regular SMS or something with E2EE like WhatsApp. Although it's only a matter of time before FB abuses WhatsApp data.
[doublepost=1527095459][/doublepost]

It doesn’t even support Safari on iPhone:

View attachment 762673

I guess because of the format of the site. While you can access iCloud.com on mobile Safari, if you choose request desktop version, it's nearly impossible to select the stuff that doesn't fit on the screen. Hopefully they'll format it for mobile safari. Try using another browser from the App Store that lets you change the user agent.

 

[CLS727]

Yea I've never been able to see a "total spend" report of all my iTunes and App Store purchases over the last 10+ years.

 

[jrlcopy]

when I go the website I am not seeing the option to download anything, is for Mac only? I have logged with both my original ID and the apple one.

Same, I can only 'correct my data' or 'delete my account'. I don't even see the other options.

 

[NMBob]

My advice to anyone who is very concerned about this is 1) Get a flip phone and/or landline. 2) Get a TV antenna and only watch what is broadcasted. 3) Purchase only CDs and vinyl records in a store or listen to FM or AM radio. 4) Read paper newspapers and do your research at a library by only using books and a microfiche. 5) Buy a road atlas and disable all GPS functions if your flip phone has them. 6) Send paper letters and mail all bills at the post office.

There now your privacy is fully protected!

A relative of mine still sends texts on a flip phone. You think they can't track you just through the cell towers? Phone taps, anyone? The TVs report/record which channels you watch. If you use a credit card checkout systems match you to what you purchased all the time. The stores have cameras so they know when you arrived, when you left, and what you bought. AM/FM radio might be doable. Libraries have cameras...don't want you stealing anything. Just use a stand alone GPS. The post office photographs every piece of mail they handle these days.

It wasn't like that when I grew up in Huron.

Bob

 

[dogslobber]

Losing a lot of customers would be easy too..

It's the means to get control of privacy in the EU rather than the EU forcing the issue. If EU-ians(?) can't get access to Facegram or Instabook then the EU will quickly change their agenda to appease the EU voters.

 

[redman042]

How useful would this new tool be for making a local backup of data in iCloud?

I've got several GB of valuable photos and videos stored in iCloud and have struggled with a reliable way to back it all up. It would be great to have a one-click solution to download it all in a big zip file.

 

[TMRJIJ]

I've been reading some articles about the data dumps you can get recently. Just in terms of sheer volume, Apple had about 9MB of data on the person, Google had 243MB, and Facebook had 881MB. I've also seen articles from heavy Android and Chrome users where Google has over 9GB of data on them.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...e-everything-had-me-heres-what-got/558362002/
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...l-the-data-facebook-google-has-on-you-privacy

The amount of stuff Google logs is incredibly creepy.

Agreed. I had about 2GB of data from Google and I haven’t used any of their services or browser in years. Can’t even imagine how much they got on the heavy users.

 

[DakotaGuy]

A relative of mine still sends texts on a flip phone. You think they can't track you just through the cell towers? Phone taps, anyone? The TVs report/record which channels you watch. If you use a credit card checkout systems match you to what you purchased all the time. The stores have cameras so they know when you arrived, when you left, and what you bought. AM/FM radio might be doable. Libraries have cameras...don't want you stealing anything. Just use a stand alone GPS. The post office photographs every piece of mail they handle these days.

It wasn't like that when I grew up in Huron.

Bob

Huron, SD?

 

[daveak]

Simply banning IPs from EU countries would have been easier.

Seizing all of Apple's EU based assets would be an easy response to that. All Apple's worldwide dealings go through Ireland don't they?

(for the humour impaired, this is a joke)

 

[Jyby]

Science Rules!

 

[markgpearse]

Apple has launched a new Data & Privacy website that includes an option for Apple users to download all the data associated with their Apple ID account that the company keeps on its servers.

The data download that users are able to request includes purchase and app usage history, calendars, reminders, photos, and documents stored in iCloud, Apple Music and Game Center statistics, marketing history, and AppleCare support history.

The data download option arrives before the GDPR deadline and is currently limited to Apple accounts registered in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, but Apple says it will roll out the service worldwide "in the coming months".

We've compiled a separate how-to outlining the steps involved in requesting the data. If you live in a country or region that's not listed above, you can still contact Apple to request a copy of your data.

The new Data & Privacy site also includes links that customers can use to update their account details, temporarily deactivate their account, or delete it permanently.

Article Link: Apple Launches New Data and Privacy Website

[doublepost=1527105902][/doublepost]Doesn't work for me. I don't get the "get a copy of your data" option.

 

[definitive]

Weird. When I log into their site, it only shows two things for me: Correct your data and Delete your account. Are the additional features for Europe only or something?