Apple Selling Privacy?
Apple is one of those companies that has positioned itself as one of the most privacy-sensitive companies. iPhone features restrict app access to personal data and have heavily advertised their privacy features in their ad promotions. Consumers and policymakers are interested in learning how much data about their decisions and movements are collected by their favorite applications. Moreover, what exactly is done with this private data?
Apple has intentionally made an effort to set itself apart in how it handles customer data. Its website states that it gathers less information on customers than other major tech companies and then strengthens security by scrambling it to keep the source a secret. Furthermore, it claims to keep most of the data on our devices rather than on Apple servers. The information is encrypted and only accessible with a passcode on those devices.
How is Apple different?
Apple has been vociferous about privacy issues under the direction of CEO Tim Cook, and it wants consumers to trust what they do with the data they acquire. Apple insists they do not gather a person’s personal information to sell or advertise to other organizations. As for Apple, the iPhones produced by Apple collect a lot of information. The GPS describes where we are. When we ask Siri for directions or a recipe, that request automatically goes to Apple. Apple claims it does not share that info with outside companies. The truth is they allow that but do not allow advertisers to target users based on their history in the App Store and News app. Apple says that once the data is scrambled, it combines it with the data of millions of others. Therefore, we see general patterns rather than specifics that could be traced back to one particular customer. These patterns help the company identify things like the most popular emoji, the best QuickType suggestions, and energy consumption rates in Safari.
How does Apple advertise its “privacy” feature?
The updated privacy policy put forward by Apple is only the first step towards a new, more private era of mobile advertising which relies less on data on individual users. Instead, it uses advanced statistics to infer the success of ad campaigns. Apple has marketed its products very strategically. They have laid down the attractive and updated privacy features of iPhone devices. This has prompted more people to buy Apple products, which has led to boosting sales. It can be said without a doubt that Apple has done something different from other companies and has rightly marketed its privacy policy.
They have tactfully created ads showing a young woman named Ellie who discovers that her data is being sold at an auction house, with bids placed on her iPhone’s emails, purchase history, location data, contacts, browsing history, and more. Upon realizing that her data is being sold, Ellie uses App Tracking Transparency and Mail Privacy Protection. At this point, the auctioneer and bidders suddenly vanish into thin air. This is the uniqueness of how Apple sells its unique privacy features along with its iPhone 13 and other products.
The advertisement illustrates the various ways in which mobile apps collect and disseminate personal information. Although the ad may appear a little over the top, the goal is to create the impression that the iPhone provides a mechanism to halt tracking. Apple has consistently used a central “theme” in its advertising that appeals to consumers; this is one of the ways they have sold its “privacy” along with its products.