Apple caught spying on you again – iPhone data not safe
Apple caught spying again – this time its iPhone has been caught phoning home with personally identifiable information while explicitly promising not to.
According to MacRumors, security researchers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry found that Apple’s device analytics data includes an ID called ‘DSID’ – Directory Services Identifier. The analysis found that the DSID identifier is unique to every iCloud account. It is linked to a specific user and includes their name, date of birth, email, and all information stored on iCloud.
Mysk et al. broke the shocking story last week. Apple talks big about privacy, but it doesn’t apply to Apple’s Apps. They stated, it is worth noting that the DSID is also sent by other Apple apps for analytics purposes. You just need to know three things:
- The App Store sends Apple detailed analytics about you
- There’s no way to stop it
- Analytics data are directly linked to you
Irrefutable proof of Apple caught spying.
Earlier this month, Mysk discovered that Apple collects analytics information even when you switch off an iPhone setting called ‘Share iPhone Analytics’, an action that Apple pledges ‘disables the sharing of Device Analytics altogether.
Knowing the DSID is like knowing your name. It is one-to-one to your identity. All these detailed analytics are linked directly to you. And that is a problem because there’s no way to switch it off.
Tommy Mysk
What does this second breach of trust mean to Apple users?
First, Apple’s holier-than-thou privacy policy and claims that it does not spy on users is bovine merde (BS in English).
Second, while we don’t know how Apple uses the data, experts say it is highly monetisable.
Third, If Apple is doing this with iPhone, you can be sure it is doing it with Mac, iPad, Watch, Apple TV, AirPods and any Apple product or service with iCloud links.
Apple’s claim
“You can always turn off device analytics.”
On Apple’s device analytics and privacy legal page, the company says no information collected from a device for analytics purposes is traceable to a specific user. iPhone Analytics may include details about hardware and operating system specifications, performance statistics, and data about how you use your devices and applications. None of the collected information identifies you personally.
We repeat ‘Bovine Merde’ as Mysk has found it still sends data when off.
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