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The Relentless-Focus Edition Thursday, January 9, 2025

Our Longstanding Privacy Commitment With Siri, by Apple

Apple has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles, never made it available for advertising, and never sold it to anyone for any purpose. We are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private, and will continue to do so.

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We believe privacy is a fundamental human right, and we will continue our relentless focus on designing our products and services to protect it.

Apple Highlights Privacy Commitment After Settling Siri Spying Lawsuit, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

There has never been any indication that Apple shared Siri recordings, and Apple told MacRumors in a statement earlier this week that the lawsuit was settled to avoid additional litigation.

Apple Says Siri Isn’t Sending Your Conversations To Advertisers, by Richard Lawler, The Verge

There are other explanations, and attempts to check the rumors out include an investigation in 2018 that didn’t find evidence of microphone spying but did discover that some apps secretly recorded on-screen user activity that they shipped to third parties.

Ad targeting networks also track data from people logged onto the same network or who have spent time in the same locations, so even if one person didn’t type in that search term, maybe someone else did. They can buy data from brokers who collect reams of detailed location tracking and other info from the apps on your phone, and both Google and Facebook pull in data from other companies to build out profiles based on your purchasing habits and other information.

Ai Ai Ai

Apple Intelligence Can Still Save AI—by Solving The Smallest Problems, by Dan Moren, Macworld

For every Image Playground that has us wondering “who asked for this?” there’s a corollary of “why hasn’t AI solved this yet?”

Stuff

SanDisk Debuts MagSafe-Compatible SSD For iPhones, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

The SSD has MagSafe compatibility, and it attaches to the back of an iPhone magnetically.

An included USB-C cable then connects the SSD to the ‌iPhone‌, allowing the setup to be used while on-the-go. SanDisk's SSD is compatible with Apple ProRes recording.

LaCie Launches Thunderbolt 5 SSD, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Lacie this week introduced the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5, an SSD that uses the latest Thunderbolt 5 technology for faster transfer speeds. Apple's newest M4 Macs are equipped with Thunderbolt 5 ports that are able to take advantage of the speeds of Thunderbolt 5 accessories.

Develop

Your Mac Is Mistakenly Flagging Docker As A Malware, by Rajesh Pandey, Cult of Mac

The Docker team has acknowledged the issue, confirmed that they have identified the root cause, and are actively working on a fix on priority. It assures users not to worry about the malware warnings as they are false. Docker is not harming your Mac in any way.

Notes

Mythic Quest Is Working Through Its AI Woes In New Season 4 Trailer, by Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge

Mythic Quest’s third season ended on a hopeful note as the Playpen team hunkered down to start developing an all-new expansion, but all that hard work looks like it’s just going to lead to more headaches judging from the show’s latest season 4 trailer.

Apple Fined In Brazil For Letting FaceApp Improperly Collect User Data, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

Judge Douglas de Melo Martins ruled this week that both Apple and Google were responsible for distributing FaceApp, which is accused of “improperly collecting sensitive data” from its users. The judge believes that the photo editor app violates the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet, a law that regulates the use of the internet and digital platforms in the country.

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In response, Apple said it has no control over FaceApp’s terms of use and privacy policy as it is “distributed and maintained by a third party.” Apple also argues that the data was collected in accordance with “international standards.”

Apple Executive Departs Indonesia After iPhone Ban Deal Hiccup, by Faris Mokhtar, Bloomberg

The account from people familiar with the matter, who asked for anonymity discussing private matters, hints at the internal power dynamics playing out within Indonesia’s new government. It also reflects the challenges faced by global companies that want access to the vast pool of consumers in developing economies, but must contend with volatile and growingly nationalistic local politics.

Bottom of the Page

I have no idea how anyone outside of Apple can verify what Apple claimed, that it didn't gave any Siri recording to third-party for advertisment and tracking.

But many of us, I suspect, will decide to believe Apple on this matter, just because of the work the company has done so far to preserve customers' privacy. No, it's not like Apple is perfect here, but the company has earned a lot of our trusts.

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Thanks for reading.