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I'm glad Apple is at least making sure users are aware that this is even a thing. While people on HN are much more likely to follow the issue and do something a

I'm glad Apple is at least making sure users are aware that this is even a thing. While people on HN are much more likely to follow the issue and do something about it, a lot of laypeople are just vaguely aware that Facebook might be a privacy problem without really understanding what levers they have to manage it themselves.

whammywon 6y ago
Yes, but I think it would be a bit naïve to think that Apple is doing so out of the kindness of their hearts. Apple already has access to all the metrics that Facebook would be interested in. It seems to me like this is a set-up for Apple to force FB to buy the data directly from them.
- judge2020 6y ago
  But Apple isn't selling any of that data (which is really just 'downloaded apps' - they don't have the web browsing habits that FB and GOOG have). Their financial interest here is selling privacy with the price being the ongoing commitment to buy Apple products.
  - whammywon 6y ago
    Perhaps, but who is to say that they don't have plans to branch out into that business? It's possible that they have no intent to do so, but a corporation's primary interest is making profit. And what would be a simple, yet significant, source of new revenue? Selling user data.
    - TimothyBJacobs 6y ago
      They tried offering an ad service called iAd that would do things the "Apple" way. No one used it.
- JumpCrisscross 6y ago
  > it would be a bit naïve to think that Apple is doing so out of the kindness of their hearts Good. If they were doing it out of charity, a bit profit pressure, shareholder activism or change in management and the move is reversed. Being grounded in sound business logic and self-interest makes me trust it.
  - whammywon 6y ago
    I never meant to imply that I thought Apple's (possible) intent was a good thing. I just think that a significant number of people will see what they're doing and thing "Oh, they're looking out for me." I think it's best to be skeptical of any company's motives, whether their current business decisions seem to help their users or not.
    - 52-6F-62 6y ago
      I don't think it's that. More that Apple in this case is the old "devil you know".
    - toiletfuneral 6y ago
      Apple is openly trying to sell ‘premium’ privacy services at consumer costs, be as skeptical you want but this is an obvious business decision and in many ways they actually are looking out for people...at a price
throwaway789394 6y ago
There’s also people here who have a financial incentive to dismiss privacy concerns bc it conflicts with their RSUs. For a forum named Hacker News were very accepting of Zuck and his shenanigans.
VRay 6y ago
all I hear from my non-tech friends is "Oh yeah, the government and companies have 'my data' nothin I can do" they basically just assume they're living in a totalitarian society already and don't even think having any semblance of privacy is possible (or understand how easy it is for sinister, small-time third parties to spy on them via publicly-purchasable advertising data..)
- kiwidrew 6y ago
  The users have already been domesticated [1]. It feels like we have now come full circle back to the 80s to once again grapple with the inherent injustices of proprietary software. Except this time, the proprietary wolves have clothed themselves with "open source" software to prevent us from recognizing them. [1] https://seirdy.one/2021/01/27/whatsapp-and-the-domestication-of-users.html https://seirdy.one/2021/01/27/whatsapp-and-the-domestication...

whammywon 6y ago

Yes, but I think it would be a bit naïve to think that Apple is doing so out of the kindness of their hearts. Apple already has access to all the metrics that Facebook would be interested in. It seems to me like this is a set-up for Apple to force FB to buy the data directly from them.

judge2020 6y ago
But Apple isn't selling any of that data (which is really just 'downloaded apps' - they don't have the web browsing habits that FB and GOOG have). Their financial interest here is selling privacy with the price being the ongoing commitment to buy Apple products.
- whammywon 6y ago
  Perhaps, but who is to say that they don't have plans to branch out into that business? It's possible that they have no intent to do so, but a corporation's primary interest is making profit. And what would be a simple, yet significant, source of new revenue? Selling user data.
  - TimothyBJacobs 6y ago
    They tried offering an ad service called iAd that would do things the "Apple" way. No one used it.
JumpCrisscross 6y ago
> it would be a bit naïve to think that Apple is doing so out of the kindness of their hearts Good. If they were doing it out of charity, a bit profit pressure, shareholder activism or change in management and the move is reversed. Being grounded in sound business logic and self-interest makes me trust it.
- whammywon 6y ago
  I never meant to imply that I thought Apple's (possible) intent was a good thing. I just think that a significant number of people will see what they're doing and thing "Oh, they're looking out for me." I think it's best to be skeptical of any company's motives, whether their current business decisions seem to help their users or not.
  - 52-6F-62 6y ago
    I don't think it's that. More that Apple in this case is the old "devil you know".
  - toiletfuneral 6y ago
    Apple is openly trying to sell ‘premium’ privacy services at consumer costs, be as skeptical you want but this is an obvious business decision and in many ways they actually are looking out for people...at a price

throwaway789394 6y ago

There’s also people here who have a financial incentive to dismiss privacy concerns bc it conflicts with their RSUs. For a forum named Hacker News were very accepting of Zuck and his shenanigans.

VRay 6y ago

all I hear from my non-tech friends is "Oh yeah, the government and companies have 'my data' nothin I can do" they basically just assume they're living in a totalitarian society already and don't even think having any semblance of privacy is possible (or understand how easy it is for sinister, small-time third parties to spy on them via publicly-purchasable advertising data..)

kiwidrew 6y ago
The users have already been domesticated [1]. It feels like we have now come full circle back to the 80s to once again grapple with the inherent injustices of proprietary software. Except this time, the proprietary wolves have clothed themselves with "open source" software to prevent us from recognizing them. [1] https://seirdy.one/2021/01/27/whatsapp-and-the-domestication-of-users.html https://seirdy.one/2021/01/27/whatsapp-and-the-domestication...