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Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

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Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#91

Post by hanniabu »

amiga1200 wrote: post #4

I’m slowly getting the impression that either there’s been a policy change at Apple in terms of customer privacy, or some other government pressure that’s causing all of these seemingly anti-privacy decisions to be made. I’m considering moving away from the Apple eco-system, any recommendations? I’m equally distrustful of Android (specifically Google). I feel like my only option is to compile and deploy my own versio…

> I’m slowly getting the impression that either there’s been a policy change at Apple in terms of customer privacy

More likely that they never were for privacy and injury used it as a marketing ploy, putting on the mirage of being pro-privacy.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#92

Post by emodendroket »

amiga1200 wrote: post #4

I’m slowly getting the impression that either there’s been a policy change at Apple in terms of customer privacy, or some other government pressure that’s causing all of these seemingly anti-privacy decisions to be made. I’m considering moving away from the Apple eco-system, any recommendations? I’m equally distrustful of Android (specifically Google). I feel like my only option is to compile and deploy my own versio…

Why would the government pressure them to have employees use their personal accounts at work? That doesn't make any sense.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#93

Post by busymom0 »

Johnny555 wrote: post #29
busymom0 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> customer privacy I agree with the point of your comment but this particular post is regarding employees and seems like this has been in place for 3 years at least (tweet mentions it). I started moving away from Apple a few months ago, much before this Apple CSAM debacle. This is a pretty big move for me because I am a developer who makes apps for both iOS and MacOS, so I pretty much need Apple software for work. No…

No longer buying iPhones or Macs. I was planning on upgrading to the Mac Mini with M1 chip later this fall but now I plan on building a hackintosh instead. If you don't trust Apple, why build a Hackintosh and run Apple software?

I require MacOS for app development (I am an iOS/MacOS Developer) and it can only be done using MacOS. If I have a hackintosh (or maybe just build my own PC and run MacOS in a VM, then I don't have to buy Apple hardware.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#94

Post by powersurge360 »

kondro wrote: post #54
MattGaiser wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really surprised at the number of personal GitHub accounts that are being used in my org and at others. I guarantee their access isn't being removed when they depart. And it seems common at a ton of companies.

Because GitHub makes it hard (i.e. impossible) to manage multiple accounts. No account switching on the website, no easy way to use multiple SSH keys to access multiple accounts when using Git.

You can set up a new host in your ssh config and specify a key different from your main account and it should swap your accounts based on the key. Additionally, you can set a git config to be included if you’re in a particular directory so that you can change your commit details.

I’m on a mobile device so excuse the vagueness, but if there’s interest I can provide some resources and go more in depth.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#95

Post by emodendroket »

Manuel_D wrote: post #34
_drimzy wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you need to link your personal accounts with family photos and whatnot? Nope. You can create a separate iCloud account just for work. I did that during my time there. I always maintained a separate work phone, and used work icloud account for that. The folks complaining are the ones who just didn't do that, and added 'work data' on their personal account, which ofcourse they will have to hand over if subpoenaed.

Okay, that makes a lot more sense. To be frank, this twitter thread seems sensationalist if reality is closer to "I didn't bother to create a separate work account" rather than "Apple asked me to merge my personal account".

The original complaint also seems to put the blame on Apple but I would have to think that letting people start deleting stuff in discovery is not allowed, even if you swear it's personal and irrelevant to the case.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#96

Post by Riseed »

emodendroket wrote: post #88
gurchik wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally there is a difference between logging into Slack on my phone and logging into email (which requires me to enroll into the MDM). I do the former on my personal cell phone, but I would never do the latter. There are many mistakes the company can make (like wiping my personal phone after resigning from the company) to make me regret that decision. But installing Slack is different, I can shut off the notifica…

> There are many mistakes the company can make (like wiping my personal phone after resigning from the company) to make me regret that decision. How much would you even notice this these days, with everything synced to the cloud?

I would certainly notice because I go out of my way to ensure everything on my device is not synced to the cloud.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#97

Post by SturgeonsLaw »

MattGaiser wrote: post #56
kondro wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because GitHub makes it hard (i.e. impossible) to manage multiple accounts. No account switching on the website, no easy way to use multiple SSH keys to access multiple accounts when using Git.

Shouldn't you mostly be using them on separate computers though? The rare times I need my personal one at work (to view how I solved something before), I just open Incognito.

Obligatory plug for Firefox Containers

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#98

Post by emodendroket »

Riseed wrote: post #96
emodendroket wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are many mistakes the company can make (like wiping my personal phone after resigning from the company) to make me regret that decision. How much would you even notice this these days, with everything synced to the cloud?

I would certainly notice because I go out of my way to ensure everything on my device is not synced to the cloud.

I'm going to guess there are not a lot of people who are assiduously avoiding any cloud sync and then adding their work e-mail to their phones.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#99

Post by Silhouette »

harry8 wrote: post #81
pbreit wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt it. I've never heard first-hand of anyone running into any trouble that this would mitigate. Some people are just crazy overzealously fearful of employers and BigCos.

You don't hear about the trouble that people avoid. So...

You also wouldn't hear about the trouble someone didn't avoid if the subsequent legal settlement included a gag clause as well as seizing control of the affected IP and a large financial element.

Never accept terms that give your employer control over anything you do independent of work that doesn't affect your performance at work. There is nothing in it for you and the only reason it would be of value to them is if they intend to abuse it.

Re: Apple explicitly asks employees to merge their personal and work accounts

#100

Post by snowwrestler »

pbreit wrote: post #47
shaggyfrog wrote: post #7

Create a firewall between your personal and professional time. Another name for this is “setting healthy boundaries”. Always create new accounts for anything work related -- GitHub, Apple ID, whatever. Don’t install work apps on your personal phone. Don’t enrol your personal phone in corporate MDM. If they want you to use a device for work, ask them to give you one. Don’t do personal stuff on your work devices. Don’t…

I don't follow ANY of this advice and am unlikely to do so anytime soon.

As with any security advice, we each have to know our threat model and understand how it may differ from the advice-giver.

It’s undoubtedly more secure to maintain perfect separation between work and personal information contexts. It can also be expensive and annoying, and may not be worth it for everyone. It really depends strongly on the employer and one’s relationship with them.

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