A Look Inside Apple's User Data Utilization Wars (reuters.com)

tlhIngan writes: It's no secret Apple [is] on a privacy bent as of late. But that extends inside of Apple as well with various internal groups fighting for access to user data and often being denied by Apple's "privacy czars" who ensure Apple doesn't collect information they don't [need], that information is used only [in] ways the user allows, and to design the systems to keep user data separate. This has lead to many conflicts, especially for the Siri and iAd team who often cannot access [the] user data they need. Of course, Apple can do this because unlike Google, Facebook or [Amazon], Apple makes money on hardware and not on the sale of customer data.

Comments

Google becoming Microsoftish

[Tablizer]

Apple can do this because unlike Google, Facebook or [Amazon], Apple makes money on hardware and not on the sale of customer data.

Google Maps on Android wanted me to register (with Google) in order for Maps to remember recent queries done just 5 minutes ago even. If you don't register, you gotta re-type them in.

And the User Agreement does permit them to share map queries with vendors.

Technically a map app could cache recent map queries on the phone itself rather than The Cloud.

I'm thinking of going back to iPhone.

"ish"??

[SuperKendall]

Google to my mind has far surpassed Microsoft in unpleasantness to the user. Microsoft primarily was involved n creating bad user interfaces that were overly complex and lacked style; even though they collect a lot of user info also they don't spread it around nearly so much as Google does. Google's ecosystem is far more "leaky" if you will in terms of apps or advertisers getting a trove of information about your behavior from search or even just day to day movement.