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

You're title is correct in that you're wrong

[rsborg]

"Apple makes money on hardware and not on the sale of customer data."

iAd ... http://advertising.apple.com/
iBeacon ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
iTunes ...

All of these use user data to facilitate advertising or other revenue for Apple.

Revenue breakdown for Apple:
http://www.statista.com/statis...

So they make 80% of their revenue from hardware. iTunes exists because of the hardware. All of that other stuff like iAd/iBeacon is probably a rounding error.

Oh and:
http://www.engadget.com/2016/0...

Re:You're title is correct in that you're wrong

[NatasRevol]

Most people do these days. My family has half a dozen iDevices. If they're hooked up to the computer once a year, that seems like a lot.

Another humble brag from Apple?

[JoeyRox]

For a company as secretive as Apple, stories like this don't get out unless Apple intentionally leaks them. It's just like the recent story of how some Apple engineers might quit if forced to implement an encryption backdoor for the government.

Laws/Regulations protecting customer info exist...

[Lodragandraoidh]

Information privacy or data protection laws prohibit the disclosure or misuse of information held on private individuals. These laws are based on Fair Information Practice, first developed in the United States in the 1970s by the Department for Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). The basic principles of data protection are:

For all data collected there should be a stated purpose.

Information collected by an individual cannot be disclosed to other organizations or individuals unless specifically authorized by law or by consent of the individual

Records kept on an individual should be accurate and up to date

There should be mechanisms for individuals to review data about them, to ensure accuracy. This may include periodic reporting

Data should be deleted when it is no longer needed for the stated purpose

Transmission of personal information to locations where "equivalent" personal data protection cannot be assured is prohibited

Some data is too sensitive to be collected, unless there are extreme circumstances (e.g., sexual orientation, religion)