Apple has an outward-facing sentiment that suggests privacy means a lot to the company. The tech giant famously refused to assist the government in unlocking a mass shooter’s iPhone, claiming that the creation of backdoor entry coding would jeopardize everyone’s privacy and security. But new data suggests that the company itself is tracking you, even if you ask it not to.
According to independent researchers, Apple is still tracking and storing user data even when it promises that turning off iPhone analytics prevents it from doing so.
The study examined multiple facets of Apple’s privacy settings and found they had little to no effect on the amount of data being shared by several key Apple applications. The backend activity showed that every phone tap was being stored and shared with Apple, including apps being viewed or downloaded, ads viewed, stocks being viewed or purchased, articles read, and other information that can be compiled to form a detailed customer profile.
I’ve long told our editor Zach that he’s wasting his time meticulously denying web permissions when he’s online. They already know you’ve got a weird thing for those curvy Chemex coffee makers. Just own the kink, man.