Apple publishes privacy and security page; Cook pens open letter to customers
Ahead of the iPhone 6 launch, and in the wake of the iCloud celebrity hacking saga, Apple on Wednesday evening put up a new privacy page on its website which aims to assure customers that their private information is safeguarded by rigorous security measures. "The moment you begin using an Apple product or service," the page reads, "strong privacy measures are already at work protecting your information. We build extensive safeguards into our apps and the operating systems they run on."
The new website is also accompanied by a letter from CEO Tim Cook who, amongst other things, makes a point of stressing that Apple has never worked with any government agency and never will.
... I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will.
The letter further adds:
Our business model is very straightforward: We sell great products. We don't build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don't "monetize" the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don't read your email or your messages to get information to market to you. Our software and services are designed to make our devices better. Plain and simple.
As for the contents of Apple's new privacy page, there are three overarching sections. The first focuses on Apple's built-in privacy measures and it itself is broken up into separate subsections for varying apps and services. Within each subsection, Apple explains the steps the company has taken to erect safeguards and protect user data.
With iMessage and FaceTime, for example, Apple touts that all communications are protected by end-to-end encryption. With Mail, Apple takes a not-so-subtle shot at Google in noting that it does not mine the content of user email to serve targeted ads. Apple further adds that "...any email application and our iCloud mail servers is encrypted."
Some other subsections cover privacy safeguards Apple has implemented with Siri, HomeKit, iCloud, and a whole lot more.
As an illustrative example, here's Apple's privacy section regarding Maps:
The second overarching section is about user-managed privacy and it provides users with steps they themselves can take to ensure their iOS devices and Macs are as safe as can be. Here, for example, Apple touts the benefits of Touch ID and two-step verification while also guiding users how to browse the web privately, manage location data, configure iCloud settings and much more.
Lastly, the third privacy section Apple put up underscores the company's commitment to privacy even in the face of government information requests.
