Tim Cook on the privacy of medical records: "People will look at this and feel that they can trust Apple"

In one NPR As for the confidentiality of storing medical records on the iPhone, Apple CEO Tim Cook said this week that Apple is a company in which people can trust with sensitive information.

As evidence, Cook stated that Apple had always avoided selling user data, which Cook and other leaders have repeatedly said.

In an interview with NPR, Cook said his company had avoided acquiring user data to sell advertisements. "People will look at this and feel that they can trust Apple," he says. "It's a key part of anyone with whom you work on your health."

Apple executives have consistently emphasized that their customers are not its product, which distinguishes Apple from other high-tech companies like Google and Facebook, which rely heavily on user data for marketing purposes and monetization. According to Cook, Apple's commitment to privacy is serious and is not something that the company says just to gain the trust of customers.

"It's not our way of seeing things in terms of benefits," he says. "In reality, I know that I want to do business with people who have my health data, people in whom I have deep trust."

Cook's statement is part of a more general overview of the Health Records feature added to the iPhone last year, designed to allow iPhone users to view hospital medical records. , clinics and doctors directly in the Health app. Apple is associated with many different institutions for the Health Records feature, providing easy access to health data to millions of people.

Sam Cavaliere, a technician who uses Health Records and was featured in the NPR article, said Apple has won its trust. "I do not get ads for them, so I do not see them trying to monetize it," he said, explaining that he was "comfortable" with what Apple is doing.

Dr. Chris Longhurst, Chief Information Officer at UC San Diego Health, also said that Apple's focus on privacy had allowed hospital officials to feel more at home. Comfortable, because the confidentiality of patient health information is of paramount importance.

UCSD Health likes the fact that all recording data is stored on the device only and not uploaded to the cloud, which helps protect patients.

NPR recently reported that some health-related apps, such as rule tracking and heart rate monitoring apps, shared data with Facebook for targeted advertising, but Apple said that apps do not connect well not heard at Health Records, which is highly protected and feature-restricted. As a general rule, access to integrity applications can only be granted with explicit permission from the user.

Longhurst says that even though the Health app is well protected by Apple, there are "potential risks" and that patients who use this feature need to stay informed to make sure they do not share by inadvertently their health data with third parties.