Respect for private life is one of the fundamental rights of every citizen. Growing user concerns about these issues have led some large tech companies to put in place new rules to protect the privacy of their customers. The App Store now displays the type of data collected by the applications available in its store..
Apple is committed to protecting the personal data of its users
The last few years have been marked by major scandals in the processing of personal data. Many companies, especially in the tech sector, collect all kinds of data on their customers.
In the digital age, our behavior (search engine queries) and our consumption habits are monitored and exploited by private companies specializing in mobile marketing. The collection of this personal data is then used to set up targeted advertising..
For the sake of transparency, Apple has just launched a new tool that lists all the personal data collected by the applications available on the App Store. But that's not all. The tool also gives all the information on how its information is used.
Unsurprisingly, this new tool has been coldly received by application developers and in particular large groups like Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg's group has publicly protested against the new rules, going so far as to accuse Apple of harming small businesses..
How to view the App Store privacy sheets
Since the Cambridge Analytica and data theft scandal, Apple has made privacy a priority. The apple firm has toughened the rules for app developers.
Since the appearance of iOS 14, publishers must, for example, display the information to which an application can have access (email address, location, browsing history, etc.). By consulting the privacy sheets, you will be able to know the type of data collected by your apps as well as the way in which they are used.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to view the privacy sheets of your favorite apps. Rest assured this operation can be done directly from any iPhone running iOS 14 without installing any third-party application.
- Click on the App Store icon to open the Apple App Store
- Find the app for which you want to have information about how it processes and collects your personal information
- Once on the app overview page, find the section called App privacy
- Click the view details link to view the full list of data used to track you
By consulting the different sheets you will be able to know what the applications collect as personal data. Then it's up to you to decide if you want to continue using this application. Note that all this information is provided by the editors themselves.
Unsurprisingly, social media apps display longer privacy sheets than others. You will need several tens of minutes to analyze them given the amount of information displayed.
This will make it easier for users to favor the most respectful of confidentiality services. We still have to find them. Apart from some applications like DuckDuckGo, you will quickly realize that few applications do not collect any personal data.