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Does Apple Track and Save Our Data?
Of all the things we use the most, it’s our smartphones. If you don’t have one, your data is much safer than those who use their phones for everything. We use our phones as wallets, personal assistants, location devices, for entertainment, to take photos, for personal finance and so much more. A great deal of what we need to do can be done on an iPhone or tablet. This is very convenient, but is it wise? Should we be doing everything on our smartphones? It does save time and effort to have one device to accomplish so much. There are many things cell phone still can’t do. For example, though many people type on them, for long for typing, it’s not the best bet. The screen is too small and thumbing out a long email or document would take some doing. An external keyboard can help with this, but the point is that our phones have taken the place of even laptops. Most websites now have phone apps that can be used for abbreviated versions of the full site. Now consider all the things you do on an iPhone and think about how much data about your life and habits are happening there.
According to Apple, they do not share our data. They use Differential Privacy which randomizes any personal information that is uploaded to them for analysis. Their privacy policy states that they go to great lengths to protect individual privacy. They use built-in encryption, smart access options like face and fingerprint scan, phone lock and other tools to keep our data from being compromised. Data encryption is already built into iPhones, according to their privacy statement. That means that FactTime calls, iMessages are encrypted and can only be read by the receiver. Additionally, Apple does not allow a backdoor in their products, which keeps iPhones safer from backdoor hack attacks. If you jailbreak your phone, then you’re compromising it’s security on your own, but Apple stands by it’s privacy policy and does not even allow third-party cookies on Safari.
So, to answer the question of whether or not Apple tracks an saves our data, it’s a yes and no answer. They do analyze and track our data, with our permission, (this can be turned off in settings) but they randomize any data they collect to keep it from identifying individuals. The data is analyzed so that they can improve current features and create new ones based on the collective use of their current customers. Apple remains one of the few devices that is easily hacked and is mostly virus free. There have been some instances of text message viruses and downloads from emails. On the whole, though, a virus on an iPhone is a rare occurrence. Apple might be one of the only tech companies aide from blockchain, that still tries to honor the privacy of their customers. They continue to put a lot of research and development into security. Most problems occur from applications that are downloaded to the iPhone than viruses that are written to attack the phone and operating system itself. If you have an app that is draining your battery or makes your phone start to act wonky, you should delete it.
Many apps for smartphones, including the iPhone are not vetted as carefully as they were in the past. Many people are reporting problems with apps sharing data, tracking the location and causing phone issues. Remember that social media apps on your phone are simply a compact version of the full-site, thus, any privacy agreements you agreed to in the United States allowing them to use, store, sell and share your data with your identifying information attached, applies to the app on your phone too. Just because it’s on your iPhone does not change their privacy policy to match Apple’s.
If you’re finding that your personal information is appearing online, it could be that some of that information is coming from apps you downloaded. It could also come from websites who buy your information from these companies or from data brokers. Do a google search to ensure your home address, phone number and anything else you wouldn’t want to be online isn’t. While it’s important to not keep a bad app on your phone, often, despite our best efforts at keeping our information offline, sometimes it’s too late and various data miners and data harvesters have already gotten some of your personal information. If you find your name and address are online, contact an internet removal service who can show you how to remove your information from the internet. They can also delete information and remove your address from the internet.
