Apple has positioned itself as a company that cares about consumer privacy over the past decade. However, a shift in Apple’s business model towards services such as Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple TV has led to more in-app advertising than ever before. Apple has always collected data about its customers but increases in their service business and advertising may lead to additional data collection. This creates room for concern, so we’ll go over what is known regarding Apple’s data collection policy.
Data Apple Collects by Default
As soon as you start using Apple’s products, data begins to be collected. Basic data such as your name, email address, and payment information are stored (standard practices for any business). Apple’s privacy policy also states it can collect data on how consumers use their devices. This data includes the apps you use, search history within apps, analytics, and crash data. Location, health, and fitness information can be collected as well, but only if you give permission. While you don’t need to give out this information, it is necessary to properly utilize certain Apple apps – such as the Health app, which can track useful data including statistics on sleep and exercise.
Some Apple systems, such as Game Center, don’t send your data back to company servers. Additionally, Apple Maps uses a rotating identifier instead of linking directly to your Apple ID, making it harder to identify you individually. Measures such as these show that Apple does try to take user privacy into account.
How to limit the data Apple collects
Apple ads take on two forms: contextual and personalized. Contextual ads are based on device information such as keyboard language, location data (if it is shared/enabled), and searches made in the app store. Personalized ads lump consumers into groups of 5,000+ people sharing similar characteristics such as age, gender, and location (based on registered post-code).
It’s possible to opt out of personalized ads in the App Store. Here’s how:
- Go to Settings
- Select Privacy and Security
- Then click Apple Advertising
- Toggle Personalized Ads off
Within Privacy & Security, you may also wish to visit Analytics & Improvements. Within this setting, you can stop Apple from collecting iPhone and iCloud analytics data if desired. You can also review all your app’s permissions in the Privacy & Security section. While some data sharing is necessary and can improve the user experience, it’s always a good idea to be aware of what information you’re sharing. If you have any questions or concerns about data collection and security, feel free to reach out to us at info@optfinITy.com.
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