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Apple's Privacy Policies Are Keeping Data Scientists Away
An anonymous reader writes: The Cupertino-based global device giant is falling behind in the race to create 'predictive' services for smartphones because its privacy policies are too protective of the end-user. Data retention policies on user-centric information gathered into its Siri 'personal assistant' product is a reasonably generous six months, whilst information retained from the user's exploration of Apple Maps expires after only 15 minutes. As a consequence Apple's smartphones attempt to crunch a great deal of user-data locally rather than in the cloud.
Why is this written as if it was a negative thing?
GOOD
This is excellent news. Technological advancement is not inherently virtuous. Treating people with respect is more important imho.
I guess that sucks for them. And?
Modern app appers know that apps can app user information as if it was an app, with none of that pesky Luddite security to get in the way!
Apps!
I dont think Data Scientists would be concerned about Apple's privacy policy because of all the words around it and how they execute it. If Data Scientists want anonamised data, just ask apple.
Maybe you meant to say: Preadatory Information Stealing Businesses and self-named Entrepreneurs?
Or would that take too much space? /. has changed in recent years. Now anictodal evidence of something is proof of something else which is completely unproven.
Privacy is bad?
After looking at the new Galaxy S6 that my wife just got, and seeing that the weather app (Accuweather) requires the most fine-grained GPS (gps+nearest wifi routers) just to give you the bloody weather(they don't trust you to put in a zip code or city manually), I am all out of fucks to give these "data scientists."
Enough with the data mining and privacy stripping. The optimism I had for ubiquitous computing available to all - giving people access to uncensorable communications - that I had back in the 80s through 90s, is now replaced by the pessimistic vision of Telescreens being installed not by fiat, but for mere consumer convenience.
As for Accuweather: Accuweather is fucking /gone/ and a shortcut to mobile.weather.gov is on the homescreen.
--
BMO
More companies should do this. Well done Apple and, thank you.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Now they won't let data scientists spy on us? What's next? Make a great UNIX desktop? Oh wait, they already did that!
Fuck Apple!
I just started working at a competitor to Accuweather and apparently (I'm not a weather nerd), we compute a individual forecast for your actual location. We do trillions of forecasts a day. Whether Accuweather does this too, I don't know. Also, we are much, much better at forecasts than the National Weather Service.
Summary: Joseph Gonzalez, co-founder of Dato, is miffed that his product is unable to exploit Apple's user base an it is hurting their revenue stream. He whines about it to Reuters and they write a sensationalist article. The end.
I'd say so, except that Apple does not put such restrictions on themselves.
There's an incredibly obnoxious app on my current HTC (which will be deleted when I get time). It scans my carrier's voicemail, ships the sound off to some unspecified data-mining location, and sends a text back to my phone. Worst of all, is that it has no disable feature; even though I have not paid for the service, I catch the damn thing running.
It's a highly twisted story desperately trying to rationalize that privacy is bad and white is black.
Surprise surprise, it was written by a cloud provider. If you're going to use the cloud, for pete's sake avoid that one.
A few months ago, Tim Cook gave a passionate speech about Apple's stance on customer data privacy: http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/...
Apple's higher prices, closed-source designs and proprietary stances on software have given me reasons to choose Android and Amazon products over Apple in the past, but as the issues he raises in his speech become more severe, it gives me good reasons to switch back. I can afford to pay more for my hardware, but I can little afford to have my privacy seriously compromised. The success of Facebook and Android and other advertising-funded services makes it clear that a great many people care very little about data privacy and are downright eager to get free services in return for allowing themselves to become a data product, but most people have no idea at all about how commercially valuable that data product has become. Yes, I like to get a bargain as much as anyone else, but knowing that my net worth is a few sigma above the mean, ultimately, having sellers know more about me can only reduce the possibility that exchanging my personal data gets me lower prices on my purchases.
We've given too much flak on Apple and their overpriced products,
however if this is the only company that truly cares about end-user privacy then Apple is truly better in all ways over Google
""They want to make a phone that responds to you very quickly without knowledge of the rest of the world," said Joseph Gonzalez, co-founder of Dato, a machine learning startup. "It's harder to do that."
Yeah, it may be harder, but thats why you employ smarter people.
Its also a damn sight easier to sit on ones butt and watch a football game rather than be there playing it.
Most people sit and watch, the greats are there putting themselves on the line doing the hard stuff for the benefit of the watchers.
Dato sounds like a watcher.
Who typed this BS and why did you deem it necessary to repeat it here on slashdot?
Oh wow, you mean Apple cares about your privacy? Bad Apple, here's my worst nightmare, and a list of my favorites cookies. Anybody want it? It's not like anybody could abuse this information.
They can care all they want. Fifteen minutes is more than long enough for a mandated government tap to hoover up your location information, and they can't tell you about it. This is privacy theater.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I beg to differ, it does count:
1. Entering the american border with an electronic device storing sensitive data is not an option for foreigners. With Android, the resetted device contains both the sensitive data stored before and the keys used to encrypt the device. Apple simply throws away the key stored in the cpu, leaving only unreadable data.
Worse: Some Android manufacturers have not implemented whole device encryption correctly to this very day. And bitlocker is a joke on windows
2. Before Android did a similar thing with Android, I could allow or disallow location information, using of photos or personal data for every single app. On Android it was "accept or decline".
3. As Apple uses standard protocols, I could sync my calendar, my contacts and my notes using a very privacy-aware provider (posteo.de). Try that with Android, you need additional programs. On Windows, it is not really possible, offering only to sync with icloud or google or microsoft (meaning a sync with the NSA). Owncloud or safer providers are a nightmare for data revenues, so windows and android make it as hard as possible to integrate safer cloud solutions.
There might be some information shared with advertisers and the NSA. The powers that be might be able to track us from time to time. But the privacy gain is significant as it more secure by design. More secure, not "most secure".
Collecting massive amounts of data on people's personal lives could lead to new insights--I've heard this before. I'd rather have privacy. Why not collect massive amounts of data on governments and businesses instead? This could provide some actual evidence to base economic theories on, unstead of the naval gazing they're currently built on.
"Data scientists" should read "marketers".
Really subtle attempt at insinuating Apple is the only one who protects your privacy. Go back to Steve Jobs' grave and wipe the spunk off of your MacBook.
Anyone who uses the phrase "too protective of the end-user" should be smacked upside the head.
"Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
Why are you so consistently wrong?
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