Siri and iAd Restricted by Apple 'Policy Czars' to Limit Customer Data Collection

[Sleaka J]

The FBI have a workaround Apple!
Mysterious ‘third party’ could resolve Apple vs FBI dispute
https://www.rt.com/usa/336499-apple-fbi-hearing-canceled/

And you believe them? They've lied a countless number of times, they kept telling us over and over that Apple was the only one who could break in, and all of a sudden, just this time, they're telling the truth?

Wrong. The FBI knew they weren't going to win, and this is their attempt at backing away before a precedent was set that DIDN'T favour them. The FBI are slinking away and we won't hear anything else about this supposed "third party" because they don't exist.

 

[diddl14]

So are they called "Policy" or "Privacy" Czars ?

Or does that depend on who tells the rumour?

 

[Porco]

We're not supposed to make one-word posts, are we? So I couldn't just post:

'Good.'

I always thought iAd was a very un-Apple idea. And personally I don't really use Siri anyway, but I am still glad they are addressing these issues in this way.

 

[ra.skill]

Much respect to Apple for keeping privacy as #1 with their services

 

[GreyOS]

Surely you mean "engineers' code."

Nope, Tim cooks it up

 

[Roller]

Nice spin here. When doing software development involving personal data in any reputable organisation you will need sign off from legal, data protection and infosec to make sure you are following policy.

It's one thing to check to make sure that policy is being followed; it's quite another to have a policy that actually protects personal data.

 

[Turnpike]

[QUOTE="..... Unlike Google, Amazon and Facebook, Apple is loathe to use customer data to deliver targeted advertising or personalized recommendations. Indeed, any collection of Apple customer data requires sign-off from a committee of three "privacy czars" and a top executive, according to four former employees who worked on a variety of products that went through privacy vetting."[/QUOTE]

Charge what you want for your products and devices, I love you Apple.

 

[alexgowers]

A company that self regulates security and data concerns. I'm gobsmacked it even exists!

I feel like users could have the option to provide data if they wished to get tailored results in maps, siri etc.

 

[themuseboy]

It's funny to me that Apple's commitment to privacy is being reported as a negative here.

I agree, after reading the article a second time I realized this is not unbiased journalism. I wonder what advertising company is paying " Husain Sumra " to write this article.

I compliment Apple on their work in keeping our information private.


Mark

 

[Turnpike]

Not only is this amazingly admirable of Apple, it also gives us something to compare the EXTREMELY invasive nature of Google and Facebook which sadly has become normal.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Why I don't have a Google or FaceBook account.

 

[michaelsviews]

Facebook = a platform to track people in numerous different ways. But anyways, if this one guy and his team are looking for comments in the code by developers / engineers, who the hell is checking for vulnerabilities? You should not say you care about peoples privacy when lets say outsiders go and tear your OS / applications included apart. Maybe off topic a bit.

 

[gnasher729]

The FBI have a workaround Apple!
Mysterious ‘third party’ could resolve Apple vs FBI dispute
https://www.rt.com/usa/336499-apple-fbi-hearing-canceled/

Actually, they _might_. And Apple has already announced that they will want the details of that exploit (and probably take the FBI to court if they don't get it) so that it can get fixed.

 

[Leoleon]

Only if they could do this with Safari and other programs. I have this app installed called Blur®. It blocks websites from tracking you. Visiting this site I am track by 7 sites.

1) Quantcast
2) Skimlinks
3) NetShelter
4) Google Adsense
5) AdNexus
6) Microsoft Atlas
7) BlueKai

 

[gnasher729]

I don't like this, tbh. I prefer personalized ads and people tend to not know how data is served to advertisers. Google doesn't say "Joe Smith watched this and that, so serve them this1 and that2." They make a unique ID for the person and tell advertisers, "whoever ID# 1234 is, did this and that, so they most likely want this1 and that2." That is, your private info is never actually directly revealed to advertisers. Sure your actions are recorded, but personally, if I'm going to be served ads regardless (and I am), then I'd much rather personalized ones than bogus ones.

And no matter what Google does, these "personalised" ads are usually ********.

I once went on a business trip to Australia, and for a whole year Google told me about restaurants in Sydney, 12 hours flight away, whenever I looked for a restaurant. Another time, I bought some Christmas presents from Amazon, and it took about 3 years until Amazon forgot about that. Note: Just because I buy something as a Christmas present, doesn't mean I want another one myself. Another note: After I bought something, I'm most definitely _not_ buying another one!

 

[dingclancy23]

This is interesting, because I have been wondering why Siri lags behind Google Now in voice search.

As an iPhone user, Google's web services have always been faster and more responsive than its iOS counterpart, and that is because Google is willing to use the data and experiment to have better iterations for their services.

It is indeed a tradeoff, but that also means Google's web services will just be flat out "better" in the long run.

 

[69Mustang]

Actually, they _might_. And Apple has already announced that they will want the details of that exploit (and probably take the FBI to court if they don't get it) so that it can get fixed.

You're right. The FBI might actually have an exploit. Apple did say they want the details. Those details would only possibly be accessible by Apple if the FBI continued to pursue the legal case. If the FBI drops the case, they don't have to share any information with Apple. If the exploit exists, and plenty do, Apple can't compel anyone to give them the details. That's not how it works.

 

[ron7624]

I like this article.

 

[japanime]

I'm surprised that discussion of this article hasn't been moved to the Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum ... at least not yet.

 

[Ishayu]

GOOD.

Stuff like this is why I have an iPhone over an Android phone. It has been the reason since forever and it's going to take a lot before I switch.

I am sick of having my personal data sucked into the cloud everywhere I turn.

 

[rdlink]

Proving it's not lip service is a daunting task. Words are cheap and Apple's a masterful wordsmith. Combined with a massive cadre of cult like followers Apple's in the Cat Bird seat.

The more people Apple convinces, the more money they make. The existing conflict of interest is legendary, yet taboo to reveal.

Apple is one of the most clever companies on the planet.

I sometimes wonder what it's like to live one's life in a thrilling intrigue movie. Can you describe it?

 

[Tubamajuba]

One company would be Blackberry. That's why Obama has one.

Blackberry has had plenty of security flaws in the past, and Obama's Blackberry was heavily customized to get rid of as many possible points of attack, not to mention the inclusion of special NSA software. It's not a phone that any of us mere citizens can buy.

That said, yes, Blackberry has taken security seriously for a long time now. I commend them for their contributions to mobile device security.

 

[mantan]

While I applaud Apple's laser like commitment and focus to privacy and security, I'd love to see some of that same focus actually spent innovating their product line instead of rebadging, recyling and skimping at every turn.

 

[lowendlinux]

Good Job!

 

[aarond12]

"The insistence meant the Siri team had to perform a "major back-end surgery" on the feature to both make it work and comply with privacy policy."

When I had my iPhone 4, I could use the stand-alone Siri application. Then Apple removed the software's ability to work. This makes sense now. It was the major surgery required for their updated privacy policy. I wish they were a little more transparent, though. At the time it really looked like Apple maliciously removed the Siri application from iPhone 4 users so they could sell more iPhone 4Ss.