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I've been an Apple customer for the past decade or so, starting with the white 13" macbook, and the first iPhone. I've heard the argument many times that Apple

I've been an Apple customer for the past decade or so, starting with the white 13" macbook, and the first iPhone. I've heard the argument many times that Apple is just as bad as Google/Facebook when it comes to collecting data. I checked my data when the GDPR came into effect, and was pleasantly surprised to find only information i "expected". It has my complete purchase history over every Apple product I've ever _registered_ as well as iTunes/AppStore, it has every service/repair call/appointment I've ever made. It then goes on to list everything I've uploaded to iCloud. There were no unpleasant surprises. No records of phone calls, no text messages (I don't use iMessage in iCloud), and absolutely no data i wasn't expecting them to have. Google/Facebook have become greedy, and i expect a backlash will happen eventually (if not already) where people are fed up with them siphoning every little detail of their lives.

dx034 8y ago
Have you found anything unexpected in your data download from Google? I agree that Google & Facebook (esp. Facebook) appear more greedy when it comes to data collection but that should be visible in the downloads they provide.
- simonh 8y ago
  The problem is in trusting that the data they (Google, Facebook, Apple, etc) provide really is everything they have. I know Google has the DLF, but that’s more oriented to providing export access to your data stored in Google services, rather than a register of data stored about you. We need to be careful to distinguish between data we store in these services, and data these services store about us and our use of those services. Providing a summary and exports or access to the first implies nothing about the second, or who any of this data might have been sold to.
  - sroussey 8y ago
    The data they return is data you basically entered. So you get it back. Inferences though... things that they think might describe you, which is changing over time, does not come out. Something like profilelens.com might provide these insights. I think the CCPA talks about data flows too. Ask for data flows. Ask for justification.
  - TheForumTroll 8y ago
    >who any of this data might have been sold to They have to share who they shared your data with on your request.
jrnichols 8y ago
Did you ever grab your Facebook data? When I did, I was astonished to find out just how much they had collected and stored. Numbers I hadn't seen in years even, and a lot from back in the days I had a Blackberry and there was seemingly no option for "don't eat up my contact list." at all. It was frightening and eye opening at the same time.
- 8fingerlouie 8y ago
  I grabbed my Facebook data when the GDPR came into effect. Besides what I've "willingly" shared they don't have much data on me. No phone calls, no text messages, no locations, no contacts. I attribute this to always having used iOS, and me always having been rather conservative with what permissions I give out to apps. I never give out address book permissions, location updates is allowed if _I_ have use for it within the app, etc. I've never used Google apps on my iPhone. Mostly though, it's probably due to iOS. It has always had better/finer privacy settings, and where Android used to require permissions up front, iOS asked for them when you actually used the feature within the app. The option to disable background updates also helps a great deal. Can't very well siphon my entire location history if you only receive location updates for 6 minutes per day.
calv 8y ago
I'm actually selling my Pixel 2 XL off to a friend after having it for 3 months, Google's got too creepy I'm switching back to my old 5s. As much as I hate the price, I have privacy.
- 8fingerlouie 8y ago
  Look at it this way, Apple doesn't grab or sell your data, so when they sell you a device that's all the money they're going to make from you. When Google sells you a device they can afford to "discount" it as they'll make more money whenever you use the device.
TheForumTroll 8y ago
>There were no unpleasant surprises Did you verify you got 100 % of the data they had/have on you? Or was the problem of verification a surprise to you?

dx034 8y ago

Have you found anything unexpected in your data download from Google? I agree that Google & Facebook (esp. Facebook) appear more greedy when it comes to data collection but that should be visible in the downloads they provide.

simonh 8y ago
The problem is in trusting that the data they (Google, Facebook, Apple, etc) provide really is everything they have. I know Google has the DLF, but that’s more oriented to providing export access to your data stored in Google services, rather than a register of data stored about you. We need to be careful to distinguish between data we store in these services, and data these services store about us and our use of those services. Providing a summary and exports or access to the first implies nothing about the second, or who any of this data might have been sold to.
- sroussey 8y ago
  The data they return is data you basically entered. So you get it back. Inferences though... things that they think might describe you, which is changing over time, does not come out. Something like profilelens.com might provide these insights. I think the CCPA talks about data flows too. Ask for data flows. Ask for justification.
- TheForumTroll 8y ago
  >who any of this data might have been sold to They have to share who they shared your data with on your request.

jrnichols 8y ago

Did you ever grab your Facebook data? When I did, I was astonished to find out just how much they had collected and stored. Numbers I hadn't seen in years even, and a lot from back in the days I had a Blackberry and there was seemingly no option for "don't eat up my contact list." at all. It was frightening and eye opening at the same time.

8fingerlouie 8y ago
I grabbed my Facebook data when the GDPR came into effect. Besides what I've "willingly" shared they don't have much data on me. No phone calls, no text messages, no locations, no contacts. I attribute this to always having used iOS, and me always having been rather conservative with what permissions I give out to apps. I never give out address book permissions, location updates is allowed if _I_ have use for it within the app, etc. I've never used Google apps on my iPhone. Mostly though, it's probably due to iOS. It has always had better/finer privacy settings, and where Android used to require permissions up front, iOS asked for them when you actually used the feature within the app. The option to disable background updates also helps a great deal. Can't very well siphon my entire location history if you only receive location updates for 6 minutes per day.

calv 8y ago

I'm actually selling my Pixel 2 XL off to a friend after having it for 3 months, Google's got too creepy I'm switching back to my old 5s. As much as I hate the price, I have privacy.

8fingerlouie 8y ago
Look at it this way, Apple doesn't grab or sell your data, so when they sell you a device that's all the money they're going to make from you. When Google sells you a device they can afford to "discount" it as they'll make more money whenever you use the device.

TheForumTroll 8y ago

>There were no unpleasant surprises Did you verify you got 100 % of the data they had/have on you? Or was the problem of verification a surprise to you?