Apple is currently battling the war on privacy. The United Nations recognizes “privacy” as a basic human right as does Apple. The question of how much of your privacy are you giving up by obtaining a smartphone has been a hot topic in the news lately. An iPhone like most other smartphones can locate itself, which is good when you are using the maps function but not as much when you aren’t. Apple has also recently had a glitch with their “Facetime” feature. A user could hear someone who had not yet answered the call. This raised major concern in the Apple community. Many wondered if this might have affected their iPhone. Many are also concerned with how much the phones microphone picks up. It is no coincidence that if you talk about a product that next time you are on your phone an ad for that specific product pops up.
Is the information that our iPhones pick up really being kept private or is it being share d on the dark web. In 2011, Apple disclosed that certain features of the iPhone collect data about the phones location. Apple stated that this feature has the option to be disabled even though some iPhone users said they did not have the option. A software update was released to solve this problem. This issue in 2011 has Apple user on edge already about whether their privacy statement is true.
Everyone who owns Apple products are facing a privacy issue. Do we really know what is being done with the information our phones are collecting? Apple is one of the top competitors in the technology industry, to remain a market leader I believe that Apple needs to do a better job of insuring their customers that the information on their iPhones are being keep private. Reliability is one trait that customers consider when shopping for smartphones and computers. Apple has already set itself apart from its competitors with their products but they seem to fall into the same category when it comes to security. Apple has a privacy statement on their website that reads “Every Apple product is designed from the ground up to protect that information.”
Apple needs to prove to their customers that they are doing a better job of protecting their privacy than their competitors. Each year they need to continue to keep privacy as a focus, when they release new updates and new products privacy must be top on the list. On Apples website, they have a very lengthy privacy statement about how and what they do to protect it. I think this is a good step because it lets customers know that they are being conscientious about it. Apple also releases updates when issues occur. Apple has openly said that collect information about tendencies but has assured customers that the information is not shared with outside companies or the dark web.
Apple and all other tech companies that are in the smartphone market should be very diligent about insuring customer privacy. The government has considered passing legislation on mobile privacy. I recommend Apple continue to update their customers on how they are continuing to improve their privacy and how they are protecting their user’s data. I believe that will set them apart from their competitors and keep them at the top of the smartphone industry.
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