Whether it is a marketing gimmick to tarnish the image of Apple Inc or a real report, according to an article published in The Washington Post, Apple devices operating on iOS are collecting massive amounts of data while the user is in sleep.
The news resource claims that most of the popular iOS apps indulge in a practice of collecting sensitive info such as location details, IP addresses, emails and phone carrier name without the consent or the knowledge of the user.
Technically speaking, all app trackers are busy at night time or when the user isn’t using the smartphone. In the case of Apple devices, the advantage of Apple’s “Background App Refresh” feature helps the applications transmit data when they are not being used by the owner.
Research conducted by a third party in commission with The Washington Post suggests that companies like Amplitude, Appboy, and Demdex were found to be transmitting data to ad agencies. Even Microsoft’s OneDrive, Intuit Mint, Nike, Spotify, The Weather Channel, Yelp, Citizen, and DoorDash were all caught slurping up large amounts of personal data. Details on how much data the app related to The Washington Post collects are yet to be revealed.
Note- App trackers are usually hard to block unlike cookies as they are hard to be identified.
On contrary to what is being reported the iPhone maker claims that the hardware and the software used in the devices are incepted with advanced security and privacy traits. As a result of which utmost data control is being offered to prevent apps and websites serving advertisements to the devices.
Also, the company argues that its apps on the store are developed with greater transparency so that over time users are better aware of how their data is being monitored.
