— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on May 31, 2019, Friday.
In recent days, apple has come under fire for news that consumers are suing this company over alleged "user privacy breaches" involving iTunes. Recently, the Washington post conducted an experiment; its title is Do you know who your iPhone is talking to at midnight. The article made a series of investigations and experiments, including attaching surveillance software to a reporter's iPhone, and in the following week, they found more than 5,400 hidden, user-tracking apps
This means that every app on apple's phone is constantly sending personal data to third-party tracking companies, especially late at night. The data included the user's email, phone number, IP address, and even the user's specific location. The article notes that in addition to apple's phones, mobile apps also send data to third-party tracking companies on Google android
In what context is this happening? We have to explain one feature here, which is the current smartphone, including apple's "background app refresh" feature, this feature, however, allows the phone to transmit data when it is not being used frequently, the intention of this feature is to provide users with the latest and fastest experience. But it now appears that some third-party programs use such tracking software to gather user information in order to improve the accuracy of their customized ads and improve the performance of their apps. The report found tracking apps on Microsoft's OneDrive, Nike, Spotify, which listens to music, and even the weather channel app. This raises the question: is "background app refresh" abused?
Apple says its iTunes guidelines for data and services created by third-party apps require developers to clearly list their privacy policies and obtain prior user permission. If Apple finds an app that doesn't follow privacy guidelines, it will ask for a correction or take down it. But many users are still unhappy with the "hindsight" approach, and the lack of oversight of how third-party apps use their data
Can Apple and other handset makers do more to address this potential privacy breach? Analysts say it's complicated for Apple to get more involved with third-party apps, because today's technology is often built on those third-party services. Some analysts suggest apple could add "monitoring software" to its iOS operating system to give users a better idea of how information is being tracked. Another option is that Apple could force all third-party programs to clearly label the tracking software they use. All in all, establishing so-called "accountability" for leaks may be the way to put more emphasis on data. Now for apple, the company promised," what happens on the iPhone will stay on your iPhone, but it looks like apple has to do more data protection to keep that promise.