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Did we really need a photo of the author holding a prinout of the data? > It kept a copy of every app and song I'd downloaded, every tune I'd added to my iTune

by Cenk 8y ago

Did we really need a photo of the author holding a prinout of the data? > It kept a copy of every app and song I'd downloaded, every tune I'd added to my iTunes music library, and every time I needed repair on a multitude of Apple devices going back a decade. Is this surprising in any way? If you buy something (or "buy" it for free on the App Store) of course the company you buy it from keeps records of that.

icebraining 8y ago
If you buy something of course the company you buy it from keeps records of that. I don't think it's a problem, but they could not tie it to your identity. After all, when you buy something with cash, the company might keep a record of the purchase, but it's not (or at least not always) tied to you.
gumby 8y ago
> Is this surprising in any way? If you buy something (or "buy" it for free on the App Store) of course the company you buy it from keeps records of that. It need not; for example it doesn't need historical data that have been superseded; if it no longer has an app available for download it could purge the fact that you bought it; it could give purchasers an anonymized download key that their phone could store (or cache in icloud someplace).
- jmelloy 8y ago
  That’s pretty rough from a financial audit perspective. For budgeting purposes I’ve tried to find a full list of my iTunes purchase, and couldn’t find it in the store. Didn’t think to look in privacy.
- gumby 8y ago
  I'm not complaining per se, but quite puzzled why someone would downvote this factual comment. Plenty of companies sell you things without maintaining a record (say, a brick and mortar shoe store) and there's typically little reason to do it online either. Yes, I know plenty of online companies do routinely spy on users but I see no reason to consider this "of course". This is admittedly creeping into meatspace (there's absolutely no legitimate reason for causing things like automatic toll tags or driving licenses to supply privacy-busting data to third parties, but on the other hand plenty of sandwich shops manage to have "frequent diner" programs that are simply a card the customer carries which is punched each time a sandwich is purchased. There is no reason why an online business shouldn't do the same -- and GDPR should drive businesses to do so. It's in the customer's interest.

by Cenk 8y ago

icebraining 8y ago

If you buy something of course the company you buy it from keeps records of that. I don't think it's a problem, but they could not tie it to your identity. After all, when you buy something with cash, the company might keep a record of the purchase, but it's not (or at least not always) tied to you.

gumby 8y ago

> Is this surprising in any way? If you buy something (or "buy" it for free on the App Store) of course the company you buy it from keeps records of that. It need not; for example it doesn't need historical data that have been superseded; if it no longer has an app available for download it could purge the fact that you bought it; it could give purchasers an anonymized download key that their phone could store (or cache in icloud someplace).

jmelloy 8y ago
That’s pretty rough from a financial audit perspective. For budgeting purposes I’ve tried to find a full list of my iTunes purchase, and couldn’t find it in the store. Didn’t think to look in privacy.
gumby 8y ago
I'm not complaining per se, but quite puzzled why someone would downvote this factual comment. Plenty of companies sell you things without maintaining a record (say, a brick and mortar shoe store) and there's typically little reason to do it online either. Yes, I know plenty of online companies do routinely spy on users but I see no reason to consider this "of course". This is admittedly creeping into meatspace (there's absolutely no legitimate reason for causing things like automatic toll tags or driving licenses to supply privacy-busting data to third parties, but on the other hand plenty of sandwich shops manage to have "frequent diner" programs that are simply a card the customer carries which is punched each time a sandwich is purchased. There is no reason why an online business shouldn't do the same -- and GDPR should drive businesses to do so. It's in the customer's interest.