𧡠1/5 The recent changes that Apple has made to App Store ads should raise many #privacy concerns. It seems that the #AppStore app on iOS 14.6 sends every tap you make in the app to Apple.πThis data is sent in one request: (data usage & personalized ads are off) #CyberSecurity
2/5 As the user browses the App Store app, detailed usage data is sent to Apple simultaneously. The data contains IDs to map the behavior to a profile (redacted in the video). Data shown in the video is 152KB. Here's a log of the requests while using the app for 10 minutes:
3/5 The strange thing is that Apple introduced strict measures in #iOS 14.5 to prevent developers from fingerprinting users.
4/5 It's unclear if Apple still collects analytics data in iOS 16, even when sharing analytics and personalized recommendations are switched off. Regardless, the App Store already knows a lot about our behavior and how we explore apps.
5/5 The level of details shown in the video is also too much even if the user has consented to sharing analytics data with Apple. As the title of John Gruber's post reads: App Store Ads Gone Wild
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Apple's Data & Privacy statement starts with the calming phrase "Apple believes privacy is a fundamental human right" then goes on to describe how the platform aggressively collects your data. You must accept the statement or stop using your iPhone. #CyberSecurity
2/6 It is true that there are options to disable personalized ads, but as this videos shows, usage data is still collected and sent to Apple even when these options are disabled:
3/6 Before you conclude that Apple is tracking its users, you need to understand how Apple defines tracking. In short, as long as data collected to track you is not shared with 3rd parties, it's not considered tracking. No, Apple is not tracking you, just keeping an eye on you π
We confirm that iOS 16 does communicate with Apple services outside an active VPN tunnel. Worse, it leaks DNS requests. #Apple services that escape the VPN connection include Health, Maps, Wallet.
We used @ProtonVPN and #Wireshark. Details in the video:
You can easily monitor the network traffic of any device using this simple method. You don't need a custom router for that. You just need a Mac and #Wireshark, and enjoy βοΈ
I know what you're asking yourself and the answer is YES. #Android communicates with #Google services outside an active VPN connection, even with the options "Always-on" and "Block Connections without VPN."
I used a #Pixel phone running #Android13, its IP is 192.168.2.14 π
We prepared this video to illustrate why access to the accelerometer should get a permission in iOS. Unrestricted access to accelerometer data can breach user privacy. We used Facebook as an example in the video.
It's amazing what algorithms can extract from accelerometer data:
- Detect if you're walking, sitting, cycling.. etc
- Count your steps
- Figure your heart rate
- Find your precise location
- Analyze sound vibrations of your phone speaker and infer what you're listening to
The iPhone is equipped with a very accurate accelerometer. It helps algorithms achieve their goals with high accuracy.
Good news: iOS only allows apps to access the accelerometer when apps are active in the foreground