Apple's Privacy Policies & User Exploitation

[RobbieTT]

I've been working my way through the data Apple holds on me and, quite frankly, I am shocked.

I have no idea as to why Apple needs to store information on every phone call I make and receive, complete with both parties telephone number and the duration of every call - I don't think they have justifiable reason to do so.

Same goes for all my internet browsing, all my Google searches and full address paths to all my work documents, my banking details, medical details and even how many emails I have yet to read or respond to on any given day.

Why does Apple need to store data on where I have been, including any wifi networks I may have connected to, when out and about?

Why does Apple need to store data on all my family members, their respective browsing history, work email addresses, banking, medical, legal, company details, place of work and the email addresses of everyone who has ever mailed them?

Why does Apple need to correlate where I have been (in Lat Long) with its best guess as to the address I am visiting and store this information on its servers?

Why does Apple need to keep a record of every YouTube video and alike that my family and I have watched?

About the only thing I am grateful for is how little I use iCloud - just for a shared calendar. I shudder to think what Apple would do if I had given them more direct access to my personal data. As it is, Apple is harvesting data from all user devices, forwarding it to their servers, storing it and correlating the data.

Worrisome times.

 

[chabig]

You have quite a vivid imagination.

 

[TiggrToo]

You have quite a vivid imagination.

And blatantly ignoring that Apple store a fraction of information compared to Google...

 

[RobbieTT]

Clearly not vivid enough as I had no idea Apple stored so much data on us all or how they use it. I'm still working my way through the download from Apple and I'm gobsmacked. I just about got used to the idea that Google extracted everything they can but I had little idea that Apple also stored whatever Google stored if they happened to being used on an Apple device.

The analytics download that displays the correlations is particularly revealing.
[doublepost=1527784889][/doublepost]Oh and Apple has a copy of all my contacts, including addresses and other details. It just gets better and better.

 

[chabig]

Clearly not vivid enough as I had no idea Apple stored so much data on us all...

I simply do not believe you.

 

[Banglazed]

We're in a generation that is dependent on technology which most big tech companies have some form of data mining/big data/data analytics on their customers. If you think data Apple have on you is worrisome, imagine what Google or Amazon has. Might as well switch to old tech like prepaid phone if you want to avoid it.

 

[RobbieTT]

I simply do not believe you.

A rather odd thing to say. Why would I lie as my circumstances will be echoed by millions of others?

Indeed, I'd say I am far from unique but until the downloads were made available, plus the 7 day waiting period for Apple to provide the link, I simply had no idea of how much data Apple holds on people.

As you find yourself in the disbelieving camp I would guess that you have little or no idea as to the data held. If you happen to be a US citizen then, as I understand it, Apple will not allow you to know (yet?).
[doublepost=1527791712][/doublepost]

We're in a generation that is dependent on technology which most big tech companies have some form of data mining/big data/data analytics on their customers. If you think data Apple have on you is worrisome, imagine what Google or Amazon has. Might as well switch to old tech like prepaid phone if you want to avoid it.

I think most of begrudgingly accept that 'free' services from Google are not free and perhaps not even fair. What I am genuinely surprised about is Apple grabbing personal information off devices and retaining it for years and years. Apple is not a 'free' service either - we pay for our products. Given that the data download is post-GDPR I am amazed that Apple has not cleansed its systems of old (2005 in my case) personal data or personal data that cannot be justifiably held.

https://advisera.com/eugdpracademy/gdpr/lawfulness-of-processing/

 

[chabig]

The reason I don't believe you is because of stories like this:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech...e-everything-had-me-heres-what-got/558362002/

 

[RobbieTT]

Cannot vouch for that chap, but my download did contain all the items I described, including the specific items he said he didn't get (eg search histories).
[doublepost=1527797140][/doublepost]Hard to find a search history passage that didn't have private information. On the GDPR download the search history and websites visited is filed under 'Other Data--->Apple Features--->SafariBrowsingHistory' in a .json file, so perhaps the chap linked above missed it. Anyway, the data looks like this:

{
"Time": "2018-05-12T13:49:56Z",
"URL": "https://www.youtube.com/feed/history",
"Title": "(12) History - YouTube"
},
{
"Time": "2018-05-12T13:57:31Z",
"URL": "https://www.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/",
"Title": "Bosch power tools | Bosch Professional"
},
{
"Time": "2018-05-12T13:56:26Z",
"URL": "https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref\u003...ias=diy\u0026field-keywords\u003dbosch+router",
"Title": "Amazon.co.uk: bosch router: DIY \u0026 Tools"
},
{
"Time": "2018-05-12T13:52:55Z",
"URL": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v\u003dAO6KxCy-zg4",
"Title": "(12) JessEm Rout-R-Lift II Install - YouTube"
},
{
"Time": "2018-05-12T13:57:23Z",
"URL": "https://www.bosch-professional.com/",
"Title": "Bosch Powertools | World Market Leader for Portable Electric Power Tools"
},
{
"Time": "2018-05-12T14:01:27Z",
"URL": "https://www.google.com/search?clien...sck_hfs\u0026ie\u003dUTF-8\u0026oe\u003dUTF-8",
"Title": "fsck_hfs - Google Search"
},
{
"Time": "2018-05-12T13:56:23Z",
"URL": "https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref\u003...ias=diy\u0026field-keywords\u003dbosch+router",
"Title": "Amazon.co.uk: bosch router: DIY \u0026 Tools"
},
{
"Time": "2018-05-12T13:52:48Z",
"URL": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v\u003dlpNjwZOg1Bs",
"Title": "(12) JessEm Rout-R-Lift Prestige – Metric - YouTube"
},

It goes on for miles, but you get the idea of what I was doing on that date.

Call history is in csv format with the following fields:


callerId

date

duration (seconds)

read

isoCountryCode

callerIdIsBlocked

unreadCount

callStatus

callerIdAvailability

mediaType

ttyType

handleType

bytesOfDataUsed

timeToEstablish (seconds)

callerIdLocation

44(edit: shows telephone number)

2018-04-27T08:14:01Z

263.04

YES

gb

NO

0

connectedIncoming

available

unknown

none

phoneNumber

(Edit: Shows telephone number)

20.35

Again, you get the idea that I was on the phone for 263.04 seconds on 27 Apr. The point is that Apple has who, when and where you are calling or receiving calls from.

 

[Tech198]

You have quite a vivid imagination.

ha ! I think we all do in some respects.... even me when it comes to privacy. no singled out here.

I thought the whole Apple privacy would have been obvious. As any company does the same, as long as they give users options to disable, they can collect as much as they like.

Cell companies need this info for billing purposes... Their a mobile company, so that's understandable,

If you ask me,i think although a convenience to uses been giving to download all data Apple has, it also has the negative effect or Apple going straight into the firming line without any consequences.

Google, is although matter, because its their business model, but not Apple... When a company promotes it stands behind privacy, and hammers that into our minds, it seems out of place when Apple gives users what they wanted, but Apple is now on the opposite to what they vowed they do not do.

With tech now, everything is collected pretty much. Its gone from user space to trust "us" on the internet.. and won't change.

I can see why mobile companies need to do this for billing, but Apple is no cell provider, but based on the info they keep, they may as well act like one ..

 

[RobbieTT]

Indeed, a cell phone provider has a demonstrable need for the data so can legally store the data required for billing. I am still wondering what excuse Apple will use when challenged through the UK / EU courts. A 4% of turnover fine would be quite a large number in Apple's case.