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Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

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Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#101

Post by stephenr »

beaner wrote: post #7
lemoncucumber wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could almost see Apple buying DuckDuckGo, given that a) Apple cares about their users' privacy, and b) Apple cares about having control over the entire user experience. DuckDuckGo would fit right in with both of those core pieces of Apple (no pun intended). I don't think it'll actually happen, but it doesn't seem too far-fetched.

Apple doesn't care about it's users' privacy. It only ever started making a big deal about privacy when people started criticizing Google for hoarding too much personal info and using it to target ads, which people think is evil. Apple doesn't do these things (it's not Apple's business model), so they began heavily marketing "privacy" as something you'd get from them and not the competition. They make sort of okay at…

> They make sort of okay attempts at privacy, but since they don't collect a lot, they don't need to do a lot

Not collecting data in the first place is a pretty big part of respecting user privacy.

Numerous parts of the iCloud-related tech stack in iOS/macOS devices do peer-to-peer syncing between account-linked devices specifically so that data isn't sent to Apple servers. That isn't something you just do by chance and then capitalise on later.

> many of the things they have done have been weak, easily exploitable, or hacked

[citation needed]

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#102

Post by stephenr »

greggman wrote: post #97
danpalmer wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of things that employees in the retail stores do that isn't very "Apple". I suspect that's partially from not having as strong culture fit selection in hiring, partially from lack of understanding (when it comes to security, it's a nuanced subject) and partially from the realities of being productive in a retail environment.

the form was an official Apple form for repairs. they are going to replace my keyboard and screen. they said they needed the password to test. I asked why not just boot from a USB drive and they said they could not do that. I didn't ask why they couldnt just swap a drive for testing. they didn't offer this option I had to suggest it but basically I'll have to reformat the drive before taking it in for service.

Create a separate account for them, and make sure you have FileVault turned on so your home folder is encrypted.

I've managed to get this concept across to authorised repairers who don't speak english (and I don't speak Thai).

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#103

Post by pertymcpert »

greggman wrote: post #90
millstone wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree strongly. Apple pays a serious price for their privacy stance, which they would rather not pay. Doing machine learning on-device makes it less effective. Apple's directions aren't as good as they could be because Maps randomly segments trips and masks its users identity. Apple's App Store revenues are lower because they limit how apps can identify users. This difference is deeper than business models. Compar…

Apple Genius just asked me for my username and password to my MacBook so he could type it into some service form for repairs. I don't think asking for that info is really compatible with "we care about privacy"

Well I guess the debate is settled then.

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#104

Post by [deleted] »

dxhdr wrote: post #60
millstone wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree strongly. Apple pays a serious price for their privacy stance, which they would rather not pay. Doing machine learning on-device makes it less effective. Apple's directions aren't as good as they could be because Maps randomly segments trips and masks its users identity. Apple's App Store revenues are lower because they limit how apps can identify users. This difference is deeper than business models. Compar…

> Apple's App Store revenues are lower because they limit how apps can identify users. I think this is less about privacy and more about control. Only Apple apps are allowed to track Apple users.

[deleted]

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#105

Post by [deleted] »

bigbugbag wrote: post #70
Osmium wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They had basically nothing at stake. Except the human cost and resulting PR nightmare if a terrorist attack happened that they could have in principle prevented (e.g. if the terrorist had collaborators, and information on the phone helped find them). > I don't think this was a particularly difficult thing to do. Very easy to say when you're not the one responsible for that $800bn company ... if you're a decent huma…

Sorry if I bust your little bubble of joy here but: Apple is not made of decent human beings and do not care for employees that much. Just look at how their devices are manufactured. Apple cares about profits and money, just look at their tax evasion schemes and how they store their cash overseas waiting for a tax break to bring it back to the US.

[deleted]

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#106

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

beaner wrote: post #7
lemoncucumber wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could almost see Apple buying DuckDuckGo, given that a) Apple cares about their users' privacy, and b) Apple cares about having control over the entire user experience. DuckDuckGo would fit right in with both of those core pieces of Apple (no pun intended). I don't think it'll actually happen, but it doesn't seem too far-fetched.

Apple doesn't care about it's users' privacy. It only ever started making a big deal about privacy when people started criticizing Google for hoarding too much personal info and using it to target ads, which people think is evil. Apple doesn't do these things (it's not Apple's business model), so they began heavily marketing "privacy" as something you'd get from them and not the competition. They make sort of okay at…

Apple has a very strict internal culture of privacy. All new features which request user data must go through a rigid internal review process, for example.

It's not just skin-deep.

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#107

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

greggman wrote: post #90
millstone wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree strongly. Apple pays a serious price for their privacy stance, which they would rather not pay. Doing machine learning on-device makes it less effective. Apple's directions aren't as good as they could be because Maps randomly segments trips and masks its users identity. Apple's App Store revenues are lower because they limit how apps can identify users. This difference is deeper than business models. Compar…

Apple Genius just asked me for my username and password to my MacBook so he could type it into some service form for repairs. I don't think asking for that info is really compatible with "we care about privacy"

It seems like they didn't want to add a backdoor to the OS just for the sake of repairs.

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#108

Post by schitzapplebits »

greggman wrote: post #90
millstone wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree strongly. Apple pays a serious price for their privacy stance, which they would rather not pay. Doing machine learning on-device makes it less effective. Apple's directions aren't as good as they could be because Maps randomly segments trips and masks its users identity. Apple's App Store revenues are lower because they limit how apps can identify users. This difference is deeper than business models. Compar…

Apple Genius just asked me for my username and password to my MacBook so he could type it into some service form for repairs. I don't think asking for that info is really compatible with "we care about privacy"

You should email Tim Cook (tcook@apple.com), and see what he says about that.

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#109

Post by fredsted »

bigbugbag wrote: post #81
nextlevelwizard wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does "the fappening" have to do with privacy? Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't it just people's weak passwords being guessed and then their iCloud backups being "leaked"?

Pictures automatically being uploaded to icloud is the issue here. Apple will not and maybe cannot snoop in the iphone itself (only for the recent models) but it can, will and has been getting into icloud to give to third parties. This is mandatory by law for every company operating in the US. Had this privacy weakness not been in place, it would have been much more difficult to get the pictures. Probably would not h…

> Pictures automatically being uploaded to icloud is the issue here

If you enable it in the iCloud settings...

Re: Apple switches from Bing to Google for Siri web search on iOS and Mac Spotlight

#110

Post by phs318u »

greggman wrote: post #90
millstone wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree strongly. Apple pays a serious price for their privacy stance, which they would rather not pay. Doing machine learning on-device makes it less effective. Apple's directions aren't as good as they could be because Maps randomly segments trips and masks its users identity. Apple's App Store revenues are lower because they limit how apps can identify users. This difference is deeper than business models. Compar…

Apple Genius just asked me for my username and password to my MacBook so he could type it into some service form for repairs. I don't think asking for that info is really compatible with "we care about privacy"

That’s why you encrypt _your_ user account and add a “service account” for the Geniuses.
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