3 ms·

This is very old news. Apple has explained why they collate this data, how it is used and the tight security surrounding it. And they make it simple to switch o

This is very old news. Apple has explained why they collate this data, how it is used and the tight security surrounding it. And they make it simple to switch off. The article stupidly implied that the setting is buried—no, not having any interface at all is burying it. Apple was under no obligation to surface this data in the UI, let alone with the clarity and detail in which they did. If you're a privacy paranoid—well you shouldn't have a smartphone at all—but if you have an iPhone, at the very least I'd expect you to comprehensively circumnavigate the privacy section in Settings. It's all quite clearly organised and labelled. If you're serious about your privacy and you didn't do that, you're not very good at being a privacy paranoid. https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT207056 https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT207056

netsharc 8y ago
The author writes well, seemingly to build up suspense and the audience's rage "News at 11!!"-style, and I can't stand it. Oh well, it will either fizzle or become the next thing people will actually rage about.
- jackcohen 8y ago
  Appreciate the nice words re: my writing! I completely hear you regarding the tone of the piece. In retrospect, I would've probably made more of an effort to downplay any alarmism and instead focus on a simple how-to for friends and family who weren't aware of (and frankly were quite concerned by) this level of tracking, irregardless of whether the information is shared externally. Anyways, thanks again for your comment and I didn't mean for this piece to be some sort of Apple takedown. I also should've noted that it really was meant more for a non-tech, non-privacy savvy audience. Completely understand that the folks in this thread probably are in the top percentiles of being cognizant of their privacy settings, etc.
dogma1138 8y ago
If you are privacy paranoid an iPhone is the only phone I would trust these days. You can disable essentially all data collection, the hardware encryption on the device is the only one I trust, their business model so far does not revolve around you being the product but rather a consumer and you get years of guaranteed security updates.

netsharc 8y ago

The author writes well, seemingly to build up suspense and the audience's rage "News at 11!!"-style, and I can't stand it. Oh well, it will either fizzle or become the next thing people will actually rage about.

jackcohen 8y ago
Appreciate the nice words re: my writing! I completely hear you regarding the tone of the piece. In retrospect, I would've probably made more of an effort to downplay any alarmism and instead focus on a simple how-to for friends and family who weren't aware of (and frankly were quite concerned by) this level of tracking, irregardless of whether the information is shared externally. Anyways, thanks again for your comment and I didn't mean for this piece to be some sort of Apple takedown. I also should've noted that it really was meant more for a non-tech, non-privacy savvy audience. Completely understand that the folks in this thread probably are in the top percentiles of being cognizant of their privacy settings, etc.

dogma1138 8y ago

If you are privacy paranoid an iPhone is the only phone I would trust these days. You can disable essentially all data collection, the hardware encryption on the device is the only one I trust, their business model so far does not revolve around you being the product but rather a consumer and you get years of guaranteed security updates.