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> Isn't Apple violating user privacy in iOS just like Android? Doesn't seem that way. Consider the flak Apple took for standing up for users' rights with the w
by DonaldPShimoda 9y ago
> Isn't Apple violating user privacy in iOS just like Android?
Doesn't seem that way. Consider the flak Apple took for standing up for users' rights with the whole Bernardino incident.
And here's a specific example I read about a while ago. When you're using Google Maps, your device is directly identifiable in Google's servers all the time by a unique identification token. When using Apple Maps, your iPhone generates a new token every ~15 minutes and uses that to report position. There is no connection between any two tokens other than location proximity, making it much more difficult to track users directly from Apple's end. (I'd give a source but I'm on mobile, but I think I read about it on Apple's website around a year ago.)
> And if they aren't, shouldn't they be, from a business perspective?
Well, if their business was selling customer data then yeah. But their business is selling cool devices with cool software. Yes, collecting all that data would make some things a lot easier — ever wonder why Siri doesn't work as well as Google Assistant for a lot of people? — but Apple appears to care about privacy and security enough that they don't engage in these tactics. And... they seem to be doing okay despite it, so I don't think they mind the hit to their piggy banks.
- kyle-rb 9y ago>ever wonder why Siri doesn't work as well as Google Assistant for a lot of people? You have some valid points on your post, but praising the inferiority of software based on perceived limitations of increased security focus seems like Apple cult-of-personality type stuff.
- DonaldPShimoda 9y agoI'm not sure I exactly follow, but anyway it's easy to find comments online from people who've worked at Apple recently who talk about how this is actually a logistical problem. Apple can't just throw data at their issues until things work like e.g. Google can, specifically because they do not collect as much data in the first place.
- vacri 9y ago> as much Ah, so they're the privacy option because they only collect a lot of data, not gobs and gobs of data?
- fastball 9y agoYes? You can disable Siri if you want. You don't need to use location-based software. Basically everything on an iPhone that collects data doesn't need to be used, and when it does collect data it's because it is usually needed.
- DonaldPShimoda 9y agoThey're the privacy option because the data they collect is heavily restricted. Consider my earlier example of the navigation identification tokens — Apple has a similar "amount" of data, but it's significantly less useful in its raw form than Google's. But Apple makes the choice to collect data in that way because it helps protect users' privacy.
- H4CK3RM4N 9y agoIt's an established fact that Apple has traditionally refused to just use all of their user recordings as training data, and is willing to accept worse voice recognition as a result.