Is Apple collecting your iPhone usage data?
It looks like Apple is tracking iPhone users data including IMEI number, IP address and stock quote preferences (amongst other things) through a hidden string in the Weather.app and Stocks.app iPhone applications. This information is sent to "http://iphone-wu.apple.com/dgw?imei=%@&apptype=finance" (IP resolved "17.254.32.16"). See screenshot below for details.
From this information, Apple could build a profile on users. Where they travel, where they spend their free time, where they work, where they invest their money, what they browse, etc etc. Obviously most users would like to be able to control who has access to this information. If they connect this data with the credit card that you used to purchase the iPhone (remember, you can't use cash anymore), they could build an even bigger profile on you.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like you can doanything about it - though hackers are working on it now. According to Uneasysilence.com, if you use an iPhone, you've already forfeited this right to privacy (from the Apple Terms of service):
When you interact with Apple, we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; your credit card information and information about the Apple products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue.
Whether or not the backlash from this will cause Apple to change its policy remains to be seen. However, there are alreadly lots of people deleting the Stocks.app and Weather.apps from their iPhones and donning their tinfoil hats.
source
From this information, Apple could build a profile on users. Where they travel, where they spend their free time, where they work, where they invest their money, what they browse, etc etc. Obviously most users would like to be able to control who has access to this information. If they connect this data with the credit card that you used to purchase the iPhone (remember, you can't use cash anymore), they could build an even bigger profile on you.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like you can doanything about it - though hackers are working on it now. According to Uneasysilence.com, if you use an iPhone, you've already forfeited this right to privacy (from the Apple Terms of service):
When you interact with Apple, we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; your credit card information and information about the Apple products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue.
Whether or not the backlash from this will cause Apple to change its policy remains to be seen. However, there are alreadly lots of people deleting the Stocks.app and Weather.apps from their iPhones and donning their tinfoil hats.
source
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