Apple Data Privacy Day: Improving Transparency and Empowering Users

Privacy organizations praise Apple’s leadership:

Gus Hosein, Privacy International: “IP surveys of data brokers and ad technology companies reveal a complex, fast-growing industry that is opaque to the average user. Where there is a lack of transparency, the exploitation thrives. The collection of invisible and free data prevents users from exercising their rights and protecting their privacy. Apple’s nutrition labels require the industry to be clear and direct to consumers, and tools like App Tracking Transparency will help people control the invisible leak of their data. With these laudable innovations, the industry will finally feel the pressure to change. Consumer awareness and technical solutions are important parts of the solution, but in order to avoid a cat-and-mouse game between industry players, we need substantial and enforceable regulation to stop this. use of our data.

Jeff Chester, Center for Digital Democracy: “Apple’s new data privacy tools give users greater control over their personal information. Data brokers and online advertisers will now need to act more responsibly when dealing with consumers who use third-party apps on Apple devices. ”

Michelle Richardson, Center for Democracy and Technology: “Too often, consumers are unwitting participants in a data tracking and targeting network. These changes will help rebalance the ecosystem so that data collection and sharing is more transparent and tracking is no longer the default. Systemic change of this magnitude is a huge step forward for consumers. ”

Tristan Harris, Center for Humane Technology: “Today’s announcement by Apple moves the ecosystem further away from the malicious effects of covert profiling and microtargeting that are at the root of many of the problems described in The Social Dilemma.”

Knowing about industry practices like data tracking is only the first step towards a better privacy experience. Users also need the features and controls to decide how their data is used and by whom. Apple has led the industry in incorporating privacy protections into each of its products and services.

For years, Apple has introduced dozens of technologies that protect user privacy and help protect user data. For example, Safari was the first browser to block third-party cookies by default as early as 2005. In iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, Safari added Intelligent Tracking Prevention to further limit tracking while still allowing websites to function normally. In 2018, Apple introduced protections to prevent businesses from taking fingerprints on Macs – a practice in which third parties attempt to identify users’ devices based on data such as fonts and plugins.