In Apple We Trust … With More and More Personal Data
The company’s strong reputation for privacy will be tested as it begins to gather more sensitive data and grows its ad business.
Bring on the data.
Photographer: JOSH EDELSON/AFPIf Facebook made a mixed-reality headset packed with a dozen cameras that not only scanned your living room but also your eyeballs, would you wear it? If Amazon.com Inc. made a journaling app that prompted you daily to give behavioral data, would you dish? If Google made a watch that asked you to log the peaks and troughs of your moods to build a picture of your mental health, would you give that information away?
If you answered “no” to these questions, you’ve also highlighted the unique position Apple Inc. has carved out for itself. It’s spent the last decade building up a reputation for protecting its customers’ privacy — and it is increasingly putting that to the test. At its World Wide Developers Conference this week, the company announced new products that would process more personal information about consumers than ever before, from retinal scans to mental health data.