I just watched this video on how much data Yosemite sends to Apple.
Afterwards, I had to physically push my lower jaw back up to my upper one - that’s how gobsmacked I was.
How can anyone find this good?
Are there any Mac users who wish to defend Apple and who think that this is a good thing?
I don’t particularly think it’s a good thing, but it’s not a new or unique thing. It’s trendy to hop onto privacy bandwagons and scream when we see new software/hardware/other things about their lack of privacy.
Some of the things they discuss require the use of Safari, which is, despite the popularity of Macs or lack thereof, still not being used by me or anyone I’ve ever known who use Macs day to day. Spotlight, similarly, although the newer and improved Spotlight searching may actually have some merit for users that didn’t use it before, thus exposing them to this location tracking - that is already occurring with every smartphone we own, as well as most other computers, websites, etc.
If you use Google Maps, Google gets your location. Same with Apple maps. If you use a smartphone, the carrier can access your location. Many apps access your location.
It’s not “gobsmacking” to me, in the slightest, and the video definitely offers nothing profound, nor does it back up claims with much data - but I assume that what they’re saying is probably true, just not ground breaking.
This all, of course, spins back into a privacy vs convenience sort of discussion that’s probably out of scope here, but in essence, I use iOS, Android, Windows, OS X, and Linux devices literally daily and I’m pretty sure that Google, Windows, and Apple, as well as many smaller app producers, could access my location among many other things if they chose to do so.
2 Likes
They’re not necessarily tracking your lat and lng. It could just be being used to support finding the best search akin to google.com returning different results than say google.jp.
But yes, it’s a strange move to start searching the web for everything you type into spotlight, something I’ll disable right now.
It’s also not that different to us using IP’s to gather users locations on the web apart form a much higher accuracy.
They’re not necessarily tracking your lat and lng. It could just be being used to support finding the best search akin to google.com returning different results than say google.jp.
Good point, I hadn’t thought of that!
But yes, it’s a strange move to start searching the web for everything you type into spotlight, something I’ll disable right now.
It’s not really strange, it’s an announced feature that people are excited about? A sort of universal search function? I’m with you though, I’ve got relatively no interest in that sort of thing, still happy to go to the web to search the web 
Sounds like Ubuntu before disabling all that stuff. I don’t know if that live search thing is new in Yosimite or who invented it first, but I think Ubuntu introduced it back in 12.04. I really hate that live search crap, just because it slows down what is already a slow process.
Pretty much everything you do is tracked by someone somewhere.
2 Likes
It was the “As we type, the keystrokes are sent to Apple one by one” that surprised me most.
Well, that and the fact the name of the file I am searching for is transmitted to Apple.
Why would that be relevant to them?
Yup. That bothers me.
Consequently I have an old smartphone and it rarely leaves my desk.
I’m not a privacy nut, but I think a lot of companies have gone data collection mad (like Google illegally collecting data from WiFi networks). Consequently I like to make it harder for them where possible (e.g. I stopped using Ubuntu for the same reason, I use DuckDuck go to search etc).
And that’s the thing. So many people have no clue (literally none) to the fact that this goes on.
They want to convenience, sure, but aren’t aware at what cost they are obtaining it.
Isn’t that the sad truth!
I think a lot of people who are informed (some barely, some very well so) have just made the decision that the convenience is worth the privacy loss. Me? I personally think that the privacy war is a moot point for those of us living right now. My worry is for the time when governments or corporations have the computing power to actually sift through all the data they mine (Looking at you, PRISM) in a usable manner. Then we’ll have big problems as a society, possibly.
But, to bring it back on point… no, Yosemite tracking doesn’t surprise me, even the levels of it, and I don’t think it’s unique. It’s just unnecessary, and it shouldn’t be happening, but there it is.
Edit on above point: And my kid’s generation will be raised to not even think it’s a problem, if we aren’t careful!
2 Likes
My worry precisely. Well put!
I look at it like this - even before we were aware of the tracking issue, we had already been tracked for a while. It’s rare for us to break habit on stuff. So I figure they already know everything about me. No point caring now. I’d go crazy trying to stop it.
I personally think that the privacy war is a moot point for those of us living right now.
When I was in college I did an internship for a Fortune 500 company that you have probably never heard of and they have been in business for well over 25yrs (I really have no idea how long, maybe over 50).
All they did, and all they had ever done, was marketing data. They tracked everything about you, every membership you’ve purchased, every dollar you spent, and anything else that could possibly be tracked then sold that to other companies.
I think it’s funny when people get all huff and puff over Google tracking them or Facebook or whatever is the hot thing to be mad at at the moment. When this company, and several others, have been doing it for years and will continue to do it for years to come.
corporations have the computing power to actually sift through all the data they mine
They can and do.
That’s a fair point, goes along with what I said… we’re sort of just used to it. I’m also not a fan of the wishy washiness of a lot of “private” options out there. Why go to lengths to privatize one part of my online life and then leave the rest vulnerable?
Unless I’m going to use 100% encrypted drives, private storage, a vpn or two, a Blackphone, cash only, etc… and wrap my entire life in a perfect cushion of non tracking and non sharing, why bother doing anything? I don’t know. Also, my above theorizing is just theory. I’m a user of Windows, OS X, and Linux, iOS, Android… Google Drive, Dropbox, tons of cloud services. It’s a thing we need to talk about, but for some of us in our profession or even personal lives it’s so hard to change anything. And there’s no compelling force to make us do so… yet, anyway
Doesn’t stop me worrying.
They can and do.
That’s not entirely true. I will refuse to believe any entity has the power to effectively use something like PRISM. To hunt specific things, sure, but to actively interact with and use everything? Not a chance. It’d take more computing power than we have, and probably far more manpower than they have to pursue.
On a smaller scale? Sure. Happens all the time and has for years.
But currently (at least to the best of my knowledge) this is not employed for nefarious purposes, rather just to market stuff at you.
This could change.
rather just to market stuff at you.
That’s where the money is made though.
I really have no idea how much the government employs it. But I know as far as marketing goes, it’s one of the most profitable businesses in the world.
If even a portion of the money spent on it was pumped into the space program, we would probably have several cities on Mars by now. lol
1 Like
What’s funny is, there are still a lot of businesses that struggle to understand the importance of analytics and data… even though, as you say, it’s got to be one of the most profitable businesses in the world…
In fact, one of my clients when I freelanced was a small marketing firm, and they were so far behind the curve… just had no idea what sort of data was out there for them to employ.
If even a portion of the money spent on it was pumped into the space program, we would probably have several cities on Mars by now. lol
Unfortunately probably true
So I got my Mac and this is just kind of sensationalism. At the bottom of the Spotlight it says:
You can change this in Preferences. Learn more…
Then when you click on Learn more… it says:
####Turn off Spotlight Suggestions and Bing Web Searches
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Spotlight.
Open Spotlight preferences for me
Click Search Results, then deselect Spotlight Suggestions and Bing Web Searches.
Spotlight will search the contents of only your Mac.
####Turn off Location Services for Spotlight Suggestions
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, then click Privacy.
Open the Privacy pane for me
Click the lock icon to unlock the pane, then enter an administrator name and password.
Click Details next to System Services, then deselect Spotlight Suggestions.
They really aren’t hiding anything at all.
1 Like
2 Likes
Its not just apple that tracks you these days, nearly all the tech things are tracking users . It was alarming to me when i heard it but now its like " aaaaaaa " nothing special .
I wasn’t (nor was the video as I understood it) suggesting that they are hiding anything.
It’s more a case of why do they need to do half of that in the first place?
A few years back there was a big fuss about something similar: http://www.dailytech.com/Apple+is+Tracking+its+iPhone+iPad+Users+Every+Move/article21429.htm
Not really different from Windows 8.1. You just have to choose “Custom settings” on setup or afterwards and change the behavior.
At least, with Apple, Microsoft or Google you can hold someone accountable. For me, the bigger problem is with obscure apps creators that require control over sensitive areas of the smartphone or with smartphone manufacturers and various ways they may come to control their hardware after you become owner.
1 Like