Facebook and Apple showdown – who will win? Faced with the tsunami of highly targeted advertisements from Facebook or Apple’s privacy, which would you choose?
And that is what the spat is about. Apple wants to stop apps in general, tracking your every internet move – especially the big scary Facebook that makes squillions from monetising your data whether you like it or not.
And so the Facebook and Apple showdown begins
First, let’s be clear that Facebook will not be the only casualty from Apple’s privacy move. Almost every free and paid app harvests your data in some manner. Many monetise it by selling to Facebook and other data brokers who mix it into your web-profile.
As the hardware and software designer, Apple simply wants to switch-off (default) data harvesting in iOS.
And it is not just Apple. The whole world is starting to take privacy seriously. If the product is free, the product is you.
Although 90% of Google’s revenue is from advertisements, it also wants to tighten privacy from third-party cookies and more nefarious web privacy stealers. It started in Android 10 with every app requiring permission (never, only while using the app, always) and will be tightened in Android 11 onwards to stop the exfiltration of that data. And Chrome Browser is about to block third party cookies by default.
But Google does not have the hardware/software walled-garden that enables Apple to do this with relative speed and ease.
Facebook says Apple is self-serving – it wants your data for its use and advertising revenue
True. Apple still tracks your every physical and internet move via its Apple ID. Apple can directly target you, but it does not sell your data. It boils down to two things.
First, who do you trust more –Apple or Facebook? That is a rhetorical question, but some are stupid enough to overshare on social media without realising the consequences.
Second, privacy is the single greatest issue facing humanity. Facebook et al., operate outside the law because it is slow to catch up with the digital age. Facebook could not exist today as a free service if the law made it reveal how it made money!
10-points Apple for a bold move
While Facebook tries to ‘advertise’ that users should trust it – its efforts are futile as it is the least trusted brand on the planet. It rationalises that giving it your data allows it to deliver highly targeted ads to you and support small business. That assertion is absolute garbage as small businesses cannot afford to buy the ‘ad-words’ even to mention against the giants like Amazon.
Apple, however, has a big stick. If the app has reduced functionality because you don’t allow tracking, it is tossed out of the App Store. There must be no penalty for same – and that may see the revival of paid apps that preserve privacy.
If you are an Apple iPhone user have a read of Apples’s response to privacy – A day in the life of your data (care it’s a PDF so check downloads)
Where is this heading?
To court probably! It is the only way a Facebook and Apple showdown can end. Let’s hope it does and justice sets new benchmarks for app privacy and personal data protection.
Facebook knows all. Shoe size, likes, dislikes, friends, personal secrets etc. It will take a very long time to affect its business by which time it will have found other ways to invade our privacy. Hopefully, legislation may hasten its demise and replace it with other paid and private platforms.
There are thousands of ways to advertise to us. It could be context-based (think Minority Report), location-based, or good old search-based where when you search for a nearby breakfast café it does not show the nearest Maccas.
What to do to tighten privacy now
Apple’s iOS 14.5 and later will have the privacy option. Please use it!
Android users from 10 onwards can always allow, disallow or track during the apps use only. That is not quite enough. By blocking tracking, the app may not work. And when you use the app, it can track you! But Google’s work on stopping third-party cookies is also very brave and will help you.
Here are GadgetGuy’s tips for tighter privacy
- Read the privacy and terms and conditions of use. Know how an app will use your data before you download it.
- Select ‘Ask app not to track’ when asked about Ad Tracking when first installing an app
- Go back into your apps and look at the permissions granted to each. Turn them off and see if the app still works.
- Use an adblocker or enable adblocking in your browser
- Browse in ‘Incognito’ or ‘private’ mode
- Don’t sign in with Google, Facebook, Apple or Amazon accounts. Always use an email; and password
- Disable location tracking on your phone to stop apps and websites from tracking your location in the background
- Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to hide your true identity from website and app trackers
- Don’t overshare on social media
- Start a conversation with policymakers about privacy
Or just let Facebook get away with selling your data at no benefit to you!
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