Apple Privacy Policy Derek Nalodka Kathleen Sweeney

Privacy Policy Breakdown

 Easily accessible online but takes a little effort to find the link  Disclosure- “Apple may update its Privacy Policy from time to time. When we change the policy in a material way, a notice will be posted on our website along with the updated Privacy Policy.” Overview

Collection of personal information  Personal information- data that can be used to uniquely identify or contact a single person  May be asked for personal information anytime in contact with Apple/Apple affiliated company  Apple/affiliates can share the personal information/combine it with other information to improve

Collection of personal information (cont.)  When you do things such as create an Apple ID, register for products, etc. Apple can collect your name, mailing address, credit card information, etc.  When you share content with family/friends using Apple products, Apple can collect information you provide about those people

Use of personal information  Helps Apple keep you up to date and improve the products  You can opt out of being on the mailing list  To send important information notices, such as:  Communications about purchases  Changes to Apple’s terms, conditions, and policies  You cannot opt out of receiving these  Use information you provide for sweepstakes, contests, etc. to administer program

Collection & use of non- personal information  Non personal information- data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual  Apple may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non- personal information for any purpose  Apple can collect your occupation, unique device identifier, location, etc. when an Apple product is used in order to improve the company/products  Apple can collect information from apple.com, iCloud, MobileMe services, and the iTunes Store

Cookies & other technologies  Cookies and other technologies help Apple better understand user behavior, tell them which parts of their website people have visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches  Apple and its partners use cookies and other technologies in mobile advertising services to control the number of times you see a given ad, deliver ads that relate to your interests, and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns  You may opt out  Apple and their partners also use cookies and other technologies to remember personal information  The goal is  to make your experience with Apple more convenient and personal  EX: knowing your first name lets Apple welcome you the next time you visit the Apple Online Store  You may disable cookies when using Safari

Cookies & other technologies (cont.)  Most Apple websites gather IP addresses, operating system, clickstream data, etc. automatically and store it in log files  Use the information to understand and analyze trends, to administer the site, to learn about user behavior on the site, and to gather demographic information about Apple’s user base as a whole  In some of Apple’s messages, they use a “click- through URL” linked to content on the Apple website  Apple tracks this click-through data to help us determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of their customer communications  Pixel tags enable Apple to send messages in a format customers can read and they tell Apple whether mail has been opened

Disclosure to third parties  At times Apple may make certain personal information available to strategic partners that work with Apple to provide products and services or that help Apple market to customers  Service Providers  Apple shares personal information with companies who provide services such as information processing, fulfilling customer orders, delivering products to you, etc.:  These companies are obligated to protect your information and may be located wherever Apple operates  Others  It may be necessary for Apple to disclose your personal information  Apple may also disclose information about you if they determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce their terms and conditions or protect their operations or users

Protection of personal information  Apple takes precautions to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction  When you use some Apple products, services, or applications or post on an Apple forum, chat room, or social networking service, the personal information you share is visible to other users and can be read, collected, or used by them

Integrity & retention of personal information  Apple will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlines in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law

Access of personal information  Access, correction, or deletion requests can be made through the regional Privacy Contact Form

Children  Apple does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13  If Apple learns that they have collected the personal information of a child under 13 they will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible

Location-based services  To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and their partners and licenses may collect, use, and share precise location data  This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and their partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services

Third party sites & services  Apple websites, products, applications, and services may contain links to third- party websites, products, and services  Apple products and services may also use or offer products or services from third parties – for example, a third-party iPhone app

International users  Information you provide may be transferred or accessed by entities around the world as described in this Private Policy  Apple abides by the “safe harbor” frameworks set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information collected by organizations in the European Economic Area and Switzerland

Commitment to privacy  To make sure your personal information is secure, Apple communicates their privacy and security guidelines to their employees and strictly enforces privacy safeguards within the company

Case example

California cases: Background  Filed in December 2010 in a federal court in California  Two separate plaintiffs sought a ban on the passing of user information without:  consent and  monetary compensation  Both cases were most likely consolidated into one by the judges presiding over the cases  Defendants: Apple and the makers of the following apps:  Textplus4  Paper Toss  Weather Channel  Dictionary.com  Talking Tom Cat

California cases: Background (cont.)  The lawsuits occurred shortly after a report in the Wall Street Journal  Article highlights:  Some smartphone apps may be sharing personal data “widely and regularly”  iPhone apps transmit more data than apps on phones using Google’s Android operating system  Concerns about user privacy have emerged with the rapid growth of smartphones that spawn apps, and social networking websites

California cases: Issues  Apple assigns a unique device I.D. (UDID) to all of its devices  Attractive feature for third-party advertisers  Provides a way to reliably track mobile device users' online activities  "None of the defendants adequately informed plaintiffs of their practices [i.e. selling user data to third parties], and none of the defendants obtained plaintiffs' consent to do so," one lawsuit alleged.

California cases: Aftermath  A few months prior, Apple had amended its developer agreement to ban apps from sending data to third parties except for information directly necessary for the functionality of the apps.  According to the lawsuits, Apple hadn’t taken any steps to actually implement its revised developer agreement or enforce it in any meaningful way due to criticism from advertising networks.  One analyst said that although there is scope for social media companies to tighten their policies to prevent the leakage of sensitive personal information, he did not expect the current lawsuits to have any impact on Apple in the long term.

Privacy policy changes

Apps with UDIDs  March 2012  Congress put the pressure on Apple to cut ties with apps that use UDIDs  2 out of 10 development teams began rejecting apps that access UDIDs until all 10 teams were rejecting them  Privacy risks with the widespread use of UDIDs:  More sensitive than cookies on the web  Can’t be cleared or deleted  Tied to the most personal of devices — the phones we carry with us everywhere

Sources   8/us-apple-lawsuit- idUSTRE6BR1Y  -udids/

Questions?