Apple and “private” data:
Independent researchers have found that despite tracking being deactivated on the iPhone, a lot of detailed information is collected from users using their own apps. This appears to be a direct contradiction to their data protection description , because Apple makes a clear promise in this regard that no data will be collected if the Analytics settings are deactivated.
However, Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry, two app developers and security researchers at software company Mysk, looked at data collected from a number of Apple iPhone apps - the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Books and Stocks.
The research result
The researchers found that analytics controls and other privacy settings had no apparent impact on Apple's data collection - tracking remained the same whether iPhone Analytics was turned on or off.
“The level of detail is shocking for a company like Apple,” Mysk told Gizmodo.
What does Apple know about its users?
The app store seemed to collect information about everything from users. For example, what they did in real time, what they tapped, what apps they searched for, what ads they saw and how long they looked at certain apps and also the way something was found.
Regardless of whether tracking was turned off or not, the app sent details about the user and their device, including ID numbers, what type of phone was used, the screen resolution, keyboard languages, how the user connected to the internet are. In particular, this is data that is normally required for use in device fingerprinting!
How does the company react to the allegations?
According to the researchers, there has been no response so far despite several requests.
Do all apps collect analytics data?
Nope. Only the Health and Wallet apps would not transmit analysis data with iPhone Analytics.
But Apple Music, Apple TV, Books, the iTunes Store, and Stocks would all transmit data. The researchers even found that most apps that sent analytics data would also allow the company to track users' activities across their services.
The company therefore knows which stocks we searched for and looked at when, and which articles you can find, for example. B. read on Mimikama and which of them you closed again after a short reading. In addition, much more sensitive data can also be derived. Let's see each other, for example. For example, apps that have something to do with mental health, addiction, sexual orientation or religion are data that you don't want transferred to a company server.
Which iPhones were under scrutiny?
The researchers checked the tracking on two different devices. First, the jailbreak iPhone with iOS 14.6. Apple introduced App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14.5. The second device they examined was a regular iPhone running iOS 16, the latest operating system, to support their findings. The same research results emerged for both iPhones.
Does tracking also take place with other providers if analysis settings are deactivated?
No, Mysk says they also did analytics on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. In these two apps, the data was not sent if the analysis settings were deactivated.
What does Apple do with the data?
It seems like the company is working to build an advertising empire . The company's advertising network uses users' personal data in the same way as Google and Meta, although a little more cautiously, Gizmodo reports.
The group claims that their data collection is not tracking according to their definition, because it is only tracking if the data is passed on to third parties. Apple, however, would only collect the data for its own company and that would be significantly better than the tracking practices of its competitors.
Researcher Mysk confirms that it is no surprise that the company collects analytical information. This practice is set out in the privacy policy, and almost every app and device that users use is likely to use their data for analytics. But Mysk said he was blown away by the level of detail. “I expected a company like Apple, which believes privacy is a basic human right, to collect more generic analysis.”
What happens on the iPhone stays on the iPhone, unless you also count the mountains of information the iPhone sends to Apple.
Source:
Apple Privacy, Gizmodo
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