Apple demands the right to stalk Iphone fanbois
Steve Jobs wants to know where you
Tue Jun 22 2010, 09:50
CONTROL FREAK outfit Apple has demanded the right to stalk its customers and know exactly where they are at all times.
According to the LA Times, Apple is collecting the "precise", "real-time geographic location" of its users' Iphones, Ipads and computers.
It has updated its privacy policy so that users have to agree to allow Apple and unspecified "partners and licensees" to collect and share all this data, including what they are buying.
If a user downloads apps or media from the Itunes store, they are prompted to agree to the new terms and conditions. If they don't agree then they are forbidden from buying anything in Steve Jobs' walled garden of delights.
Apple insists that the data is anonymous and does not personally identify users, however we have heard that before. Analysts have shown that large, specific data sets can be used to identify people based on behaviour patterns.
Apple says in its privacy policy that it uses personal information to "improve our services, content, and advertising."
The update to the privacy policy does not specify which partners or licensees Apple will share the data with or how long the data will be kept. This would be illegal in the EU so we wonder how Jobs' Mob will get around it.
It is looking like it could tell the EU that users can opt out of it. Apple has added a "Location Services" page under Settings-General that allows users to prevent apps from using location information.
However, this only stops add-on applications and there is nothing to stop Apple itself from gathering, storing and selling users' location data.
While many Apple fanbois might love it that Steve Jobs wants to know their every move, this latest bit of news makes Apple's famous 1984 ad look more like a prophecy about where Jobs Mob was headed rather than a dig at IBM or Microsoft.
It seems that Apple's desire for control is getting crazier and crazier. ยต
According to the LA Times, Apple is collecting the "precise", "real-time geographic location" of its users' Iphones, Ipads and computers.
It has updated its privacy policy so that users have to agree to allow Apple and unspecified "partners and licensees" to collect and share all this data, including what they are buying.
If a user downloads apps or media from the Itunes store, they are prompted to agree to the new terms and conditions. If they don't agree then they are forbidden from buying anything in Steve Jobs' walled garden of delights.
Apple insists that the data is anonymous and does not personally identify users, however we have heard that before. Analysts have shown that large, specific data sets can be used to identify people based on behaviour patterns.
Apple says in its privacy policy that it uses personal information to "improve our services, content, and advertising."
The update to the privacy policy does not specify which partners or licensees Apple will share the data with or how long the data will be kept. This would be illegal in the EU so we wonder how Jobs' Mob will get around it.
It is looking like it could tell the EU that users can opt out of it. Apple has added a "Location Services" page under Settings-General that allows users to prevent apps from using location information.
However, this only stops add-on applications and there is nothing to stop Apple itself from gathering, storing and selling users' location data.
While many Apple fanbois might love it that Steve Jobs wants to know their every move, this latest bit of news makes Apple's famous 1984 ad look more like a prophecy about where Jobs Mob was headed rather than a dig at IBM or Microsoft.
It seems that Apple's desire for control is getting crazier and crazier. ยต
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