Data Apple Collects About You & How to Limit It
The data Apple collects about you is outlined in its privacy policy, which runs to about 4,000 words. (That’s a similar length to other Big Tech firms.) This policy broadly outlines what Apple collects about you, which can include information you provide plus data from some third parties.
Apple also has multiple privacy guides for its individual products and apps, which more specifically outline how they collect and use data. There are around 80 of these privacy outlines, ranging from Apple’s advertising and research programs to Apple Books and sports. The guides are linked within apps and are online. While some information is repeated, in total they hit around 70,000 words—around a novel’s worth of legalese.
Apple’s privacy policy and its extra information guides all start in a similar way: each declaring that the company believes “strongly in fundamental privacy rights” and tries to minimize the amount of data it collects. (Broadly speaking, it collects a lot less information than Google or Facebook and has backed up its claims that it is privacy-focused.)
When you start using Apple’s products, it collects information about you. This can include data needed to sign up to its services or buy products, such as your name, email address, the Apple ID that you create, and your payment details. This kind of information is gathered by almost all businesses you buy things from.
Apple’s privacy policy also says it can collect data on how you use your devices. This can include the apps you use, searches within Apple’s apps, such as the App Store, and analytics or crash data. Other information Apple can collect about you—often only with your permission first—can include your location information, health information, and fitness information. “You are not required to provide the personal data that we have requested. However, if you choose not to do so, in many cases we will not be able to provide you with our products or services or respond to requests you may have,” Apple’s privacy policy says. In short, if you want to use some of Apple’s own apps, then you may need to hand some data over for them to work.
It’s possible to opt out of Apple showing you personalized ads in the App Stores, News, TV, and Stocks apps. If you want to turn off Apple’s personalized ads on iOS, you can do so by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising and toggling off Personalized Ads. In this menu it's also possible, if you have personalization on, to view the ad targeting information that Apple uses to show certain ads to you.
Two places where Apple uses your data for ads—the Apple News and Stocks apps—can have their individual settings tweaked to change the identifiers that are linked to you. Within Settings and then each app’s details, you can toggle on the option to reset identifiers that are reported to publishers.
In the Privacy & Security section of Apple’s settings, it may also be worth considering Analytics & Improvements. Within this setting, you can stop Apple's collection of iPhone and iCloud analytics data, which it says are used to help it improve its products and services. If you want to get the data that Apple has on you, it can be accessed through the Read More.