Can you hide your data from Apple? Not at all, experts said in a new study that found default apps on the iPhone, iPad and MacBook are collecting your personal data even if they appear to be disabled. The study looked at the privacy settings of Apple’s default apps – Safari, Siri, Family Sharing, iMessage, FaceTime, Location Services, Find My and Touch ID.
Head of Computer Science at Aalto University in Finland, Associate Professor Janne Lindqvist said: ‘We focused on applications that are an integral part of the platform and ecosystem. These apps are glued to the platform and almost impossible to get rid of. Because of the way the user interface is designed, users don’t know what’s going on. For example, the user is given the option to enable or disable Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. But enabling only applies if you’re using Siri voice control.”
The professor added: “Siri collects data in the background from other apps you use, regardless of your choices, unless you understand how to go into the settings and specifically change it.”
Protecting your privacy on an Apple device requires expertise and persistence, the study says. Amel Bourdoucen, PhD researcher at Aalto, said: “The online instructions for restricting access to data are very complex and confusing, and the necessary steps are scattered in different places. There is no clear direction on whether to go to app settings, central settings – or even both. It turns out that the participants were unable to prevent any app from sharing their data with other apps or the service provider.”
The researchers said they couldn’t be sure what Apple was doing with the collected data.