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Fitbit might surveil you, but the data that the apple watch collects can stay just with yourself, not uploaded to any central cloud. And if you decide to sync

by novok 5y ago

Fitbit might surveil you, but the data that the apple watch collects can stay just with yourself, not uploaded to any central cloud. And if you decide to sync healthkit data, it is end to end encrypted. It's about as surveilled as you writing in your own private journal.

XorNot 5y ago
There is almost literally no way to verify that any of that is true. It's a proprietary device, running proprietary (updateable) firmware, using proprietary tamper-resistant security chips for which the supply line and schematics are not publicly verified. If my life depended on it...I'd crush my phone, laptop and every other wifi enabled device into dust immediately.
- eddyg 5y ago
  You may be interested in watching Ivan Krstić’s BlackHat talk[0], in which he details the security of the iCloud infrastructure. The use of physical one-way hash functions is involved. [0]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGFriOKz6U&t=32m31s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGFriOKz6U&t=32m31s
- flixic 5y ago
  I think that's a bit too paranoid of a take. Apple loudly and publicly claim these facts (about data not leaving your device, and sync being end-to-end encrypted). It is one of the most scrutinised companies (see every -gate and even Google's 0-day blog), and they made Privacy their key differentiator. They have everything to lose and almost nothing to gain from secretly tracking personal data.
  - jazzyjackson 5y ago
    If you want the ability to spy on the paranoid, you advertise privacy. IMO Apple and Google are playing good-cop-bad-cop. (Of course I have no proof, that’s why it’s called paranoia)
  - ASalazarMX 5y ago
    > they made Privacy their key differentiator This feels more like a marketing campaign to associate Apple with privacy. From 2020 they have been mentioning it insistently, and while Apple has made steps towards it, they still make devices that deliberately include tracking functions, even if they make third parties disclose them. If Apple was really serious about being a bastion for user privacy, they would make drastically different OSs and APIs.

by novok 5y ago

XorNot 5y ago

There is almost literally no way to verify that any of that is true. It's a proprietary device, running proprietary (updateable) firmware, using proprietary tamper-resistant security chips for which the supply line and schematics are not publicly verified. If my life depended on it...I'd crush my phone, laptop and every other wifi enabled device into dust immediately.

eddyg 5y ago
You may be interested in watching Ivan Krstić’s BlackHat talk[0], in which he details the security of the iCloud infrastructure. The use of physical one-way hash functions is involved. [0]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGFriOKz6U&t=32m31s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGFriOKz6U&t=32m31s
flixic 5y ago
I think that's a bit too paranoid of a take. Apple loudly and publicly claim these facts (about data not leaving your device, and sync being end-to-end encrypted). It is one of the most scrutinised companies (see every -gate and even Google's 0-day blog), and they made Privacy their key differentiator. They have everything to lose and almost nothing to gain from secretly tracking personal data.
- jazzyjackson 5y ago
  If you want the ability to spy on the paranoid, you advertise privacy. IMO Apple and Google are playing good-cop-bad-cop. (Of course I have no proof, that’s why it’s called paranoia)
- ASalazarMX 5y ago
  > they made Privacy their key differentiator This feels more like a marketing campaign to associate Apple with privacy. From 2020 they have been mentioning it insistently, and while Apple has made steps towards it, they still make devices that deliberately include tracking functions, even if they make third parties disclose them. If Apple was really serious about being a bastion for user privacy, they would make drastically different OSs and APIs.