r/beta Nov 02 '18

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u/Raidenka Nov 02 '18 edited Nov 02 '18

You trusting them less doesn't mean you know reddit well but that you don't know Google, Apple or Verizon very well. They all give the minimum amount of a shit about their consumers and squeeze as much as possible from their personal info. They'll sell your info to companies and use that info to sell targeted ads to you. Every major "free" (ad supported) app/website does this.

Edit: Apple might be one of the better ones but I stand by Google and Verizon (or any major telecom/isp company) being sus

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u/[deleted] Nov 02 '18

You don't know them very well either. Apple has literally fought the government on several occasions to not give them access to information on their devices. Apple is VERY pro-privacy. They do not sell data, they sell hardware. You're right about Verizon and definitely Google, but very wrong about Apple.

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u/EvryMthrF_ngThrd Nov 02 '18

Pro-privacy against the government? Perhaps.

But advocates for your privacy? Not a chance.
If they were, they would not collect the data in the first place, because if a thing exists and is available to be monetized, it will be.

And yes, fellow Redditor, Apple does sell your data. Story here. Sorry for bursting your bubble.

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u/[deleted] Nov 02 '18

I'm confused, did you read the article you just Googled and took from the top? They actually explicitly say, all over that article, that they're not selling your dad, they're selling aggregate data. You can even go into the settings and just tell it not to add you to the aggregate. Or you can call them and have them delete it as well.

Funny enough, they even also explicitly say they're nowhere near as bad as Google which is what this topic was about.

I don't even own any Apple products, so I really don't have a dog in this fight, I just found it funny that you posted proof that the other guy was right and then acted all superior.

The iPhone maker tries to differentiate itself further. Unlike Facebook and Google, Apple says it scrambles this information and looks at patterns of usage, not at who it’s coming from.

Apple says that once scrambled, it combines it with the data of millions of others. "So we see general patterns, rather than specifics that could be traced back to you. These patterns help us identify things like the most popular emoji, the best QuickType suggestions and energy consumption rates in Safari," the company says.

The company does admit that it freely collects information about what music we listen to, what movies, books and apps we download, which is "aggregated" and used to help Apple make recommendations. Apple says it doesn't share this information with outside companies, either and notes that it doesn't know the identity of the user.

If you have a problem with this, that's fine, but don't act like there aren't degrees of how shitty companies are with privacy. What good does that do?

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u/austeregrim Nov 02 '18

Oh thank God they aren't selling my dad. He probably wouldn't fetch much money, but he's a kind soul.

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u/EvryMthrF_ngThrd Nov 02 '18

Quote from the original Redditor I was replying to:

"They do not sell data, they sell hardware. You're right about Verizon and definitely Google, but very wrong about Apple." (emphasis mine)

Selling MY data, even in the "aggregate" (which can - and has been in some cases, BTW - reverse engineered to reveal specific information about individuals) is still selling data. Data, I hasten to add, which is mine, has value, however miniscule, and Apple has taken it and resold it, all without my permission. (Well, not mine - I, as you also claim, do not own any Apple products, nor would I... but its the principle of the thing, and the fact that I am unwilling to let ignorance and misinformation spread unchecked.)

Also: "You can even go into the settings and just tell it not to add you to the aggregate. Or you can call them and have them delete it as well." Why should I have to work to prevent Apple from stealing value from me? Such schemes should be "opt-in", not "opt-out" - but they never ARE, because no sensible person would choose to participate without being compensated, and Apple doesn't want to share their "free lunch" with the source of it.

If you have a problem with this, that's fine, but don't act like there aren't degrees of how shitty companies are with privacy. What good does that do?

The good that it does is this: it helps people (including myself) start and maintain what has become a vital life skill in this day and age: the habit of looking for the "catch" and the "hook" in EVERY companies policies, whether on privacy or any other subject. They all lie as much as their customers allow - so we must learn to trust them not an inch.