iPhone Users Data Is Not Private As Apple Claims

According to advertising promises, Apple takes the privacy of iPhone users very seriously. However, a new investigation now suggests that the company also collects personally identifiable information, although it is expressly not supposed to do so.

That’s what the security experts at Mysk claim (via Gizmodo ). According to their latest findings, the focus on data protection advertised by Apple is being questioned.

Mysk reports that they have found a so-called Directory Services Identifier (DSID) that can be uniquely associated with an Apple ID and iCloud data.

According to Mysk, Apple could use this DSID to determine browsing habits in the App Store. However, this would clearly contradict Apple’s claim that “none” of the data is personally identifiable.

Personal Data

The researchers had already caused a stir with similar findings a few years ago. They found that iOS 14.6 sends large amounts of activity from Apple apps to the company, even if the device analysis was actively deactivated completely or the collection was otherwise restricted. This data included the iPhone model used, the keyboard languages ​​set, and other details that could theoretically be used for a “fingerprint” on the device.

Gizmodo further reports that users have filed a class action lawsuit against Apple after Mysk disclosed its private data. Mysk pointed out that Apple’s third-party app tracking prevention tool wasn’t available until iOS 14.5 was introduced, so this should not affect other software used on an iPhone.

What exactly Apple sees in terms of data is not clear. Nor whether this data is used at all for advertising or analysis purposes. Apple encrypts the usage data and therefore does not necessarily process personal and general information together. However, there are no details of what is happening in detail.