Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox Probed Over 'Unfair' Terms and Conditions in Italy (techcrunch.com) 50
Italy's competition authority has opened an investigation into cloud storage services operated by Apple, Dropbox and Google, in response to a number of complaints alleging unfair commercial practices. From a report: In a press release announcing the probe, the AGCM says it's opened six investigations in all. The services of concern are Google's Drive, Apple iCloud and the eponymous Dropbox cloud storage service. As well as allegations of unfair commercial practices, the regulator said it's looking into complaints of violations of Italy's Consumer Rights Directive. A further complaint alleges the presence of vexatious clauses in the contract. All three cloud storage services are being investigated over complaints of unfair practices related to the collection of user data for commercial purposes -- such as a lack of proper information or valid consent for such commercial data collection -- per the press release.
Shut up a your face! (Score:2)
All three cloud storage services are being investigated over complaints of unfair practices related to the collection of user data for commercial purposes
Really?? Could they really do that?
Boy, if this is confirmed, it'll be the revelation of the decade. And just to think I was trusting them companies with all my data 100%... Because ya know, they've proven so trustworthy over the years.
The cost of Free and Cheap. (Score:2)
We don't want to spend say $100 a year for external storage solutions, Especially when we have these sites that can do it for free or really cheap.
How does a company make money off of giving you a free product and solution? Easy, you become the product which they sell for money.
This isn't really new. Heck with Radio and TV Broadcasts they take advantage that a lot of people will be listening to it, and set aside some time to give advertisements, which the company pays the broadcasters to air for them.
Wit
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Is this more about the ads or the notifications and user agreements of the ads?
I've never been a fan of giant agreements that hide the good stuff in the deep caves, where the business model hopes and prays you don't notice it. It should be considered fraud.
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These Agreements should be simplified so we know what we are signing.
However I also would like the ability to negotiate a different agreement if needed.
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Agreed. Shifting the burden of reading endless legal documents to users is intolerable and ridiculous. Maybe we need a public authority to analyze corporate policies and release simple statements like: "This corporation's policy is good because X, but it's bad because Y". I don't know if that would be the best solution, but one thing is for sure: the whole big-ass "terms & conditions" and "privacy policy" system is a farce bordering on legalized fraud, and it must end.
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You really drank the Apple kool-aid didn't you?
Besides, even if they keep the data for themselves, it's still for commercial purposes - just their own.
Re:I said no commercial data. (Score:4)
They don't need to sneak any data from your computer. All they need to do is analyze your usage patterns. So your network analyses will turn up nothing at all.
Don't assume other people are ignorant just because you know how to start Wireshark...
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They don't need to sneak any data from your computer. All they need to do is analyze your usage patterns. So your network analyses will turn up nothing at all.
Don't assume other people are ignorant just because you know how to start Wireshark...
I'm a developer and I can tell you with a great deal of confidence SuperKendall is right. Any analytics you do on the computers of your users are kind of useless if your spyware doesn't 'phone home' with the results, the 'usage patterns' still have to be sent back to base to be of any use. And yes, I will assume somebody is ignorant on the topic of network data if they don't know how to start tcpdump/Wireshark because that kind of guarantees that, unless they are privy to incriminating Apple internal docume
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idiot, icloud is IN APPLES CONTROL and datacentres. The analytics have no need of access to your device, they can see your location details, IP address, movements, data access with no need of touching your device.
*Sigh* and to obtain most of that they have to send data about your 'movements, data access' and other activity from your phone/PC to their cloud and servers located in their super-villain lair under a volcano on a remote island where Apple is working on their evil plan to to enslave humanity. To track you in real time Apple literally has to regularly access the GPS chip on your phone. Now I don't mind you scooping warm wet and squishy stuff out of your ass if that makes you happy but can you please stop th
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You are a clueless idiot. Tracking has been actively used for years now with no need of GPS, their is sufficient data with all your itunes and icloud communications to effectively track you with no GPS. when you access anything in icloud you are automatically providing that information, it isn't magically getting data from icloud to you machine.
So using iCloud, Apple can track my exact location on a real time basis every minute of every day even if I switch off location services, WiFi, Bluetooth and access the intent over VPN via 4G like a good tin foil hat wearer? Pray tell how do they do that?
Re: I said no commercial data. (Score:1)
Let me remind you that big tech firms (Silicon Valley, Seattle, etc) are very compartmentalized. Developers have limited scope into big picture. Even if you were an Apple developer you wouldn't know anything like this. And if you were senior enough you wouldn't be on slashdot cutely trying to defend Apple.
The more you type the more you reveal your ignorance. GPS is old school, and impractical for most people not in a car. There is cellular. There is WiFi. There is Bluetooth. Seriously, if your modern phone
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Let me remind you that big tech firms (Silicon Valley, Seattle, etc) are very compartmentalized. Developers have limited scope into big picture. Even if you were an Apple developer you wouldn't know anything like this. And if you were senior enough you wouldn't be on slashdot cutely trying to defend Apple.
The more you type the more you reveal your ignorance. GPS is old school, and impractical for most people not in a car. There is cellular. There is WiFi. There is Bluetooth. Seriously, if your modern phone is powered on it is likely emitting radio waves of some kind with unique-ish identifier. If you don't know this already, it's because you don't want to know.
What the hell do you think those 4-pack "whole house" WiFi kits do? They track things, and you can't opt-out when your neighbor installs them. It's not tinfoil hat, it's real. So smile.
I didn't realise that you thought that you could leave every door in your house open and would then be surprised when you are robbed. You tinfoil hatters are usually not that naive. For Apple to track you by WiFi or Bluetooth they still have to have access to whatever it is you are connecting to if connecting to spyware they have installed on your phone is not an option. Assuming then that Apple has universal access to every WiFi router and Bluetooth device in your vicinity (cause why wouldn't they??) you c
Re: I said no commercial data. (Score:1)
I don't know your age, but I know your IQ. Best of luck with everything brother. ;)
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I don't know your age, but I know your IQ. Best of luck with everything brother. ;)
Are insults the only thing you have left or can you explain to me the details of how Apple can tell your location because you walked past a WiFi hotspot?
Re: I said no commercial data. (Score:1)
That is what radio devices do, as that is what is defined in the communication protocols. From Apple's Privacy Policy:
Apple and our partners and licensees, such as maps data providers, may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. Where available, location-based services may use GPS, Bluetooth, and your IP Address, along with crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations, and other technologies to determine your devicesâ(TM) approximate location.
In case you were wondering those "partners" and crowd-sources include Amazon and Google.
This is slashdot. When you shovel sh*t, prepare to be shoveled upon. All of us here are "developers".
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That is what radio devices do, as that is what is defined in the communication protocols. From Apple's Privacy Policy:
Really? Two sentences from Apple's privacy policy? That is the best you can do? Let's try again. You walk past a WiFi hotspot and Apple instantly know exactly where you are down to the hearest 10 meters without any data being sent from your phone to Apple's servers in their secret supervillain lair under a volcano on a pacific island. Now, explain the data flow involved or admit that you are a tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy theorist who has no fucking idea what he's talking about.
Re: I said no commercial data. (Score:1)
Haha. It's not my responsibility to prove to you that the earth is round. You also keep changing the goal post of your narrative, and suggesting others are asserting things they aren't.
You wanted proof that Apple tracks you, which I provided using their own words. You could have just looked it up, but ego has gotten the best of you. Now you want proof that the methods Apple say they implement actually work. Think about that. It's all available on Wikipedia. It's not super secret. Stop being a turd.
You're or
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considering Apple have been sued and admitted to collecting and selling customer information in the past I call bullshit on your assertion.
"Apple have been sued" means nothing. The ripoff merchants at Epic are suing them right now, because Epic wants 100% gross margin on in app purchases.
Apple has surely admitted to collect customer information. That's how can download music that I purchased again, because they keep track of that. Not complaining.
What exactly do you mean when you say "Apple admitted to selling customer information"? Did they say "We sold customer information"? Or did they something that you interpret as that (and that an
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Re: I said no commercial data. (Score:1)
You managed to be the most on-topic poster here so far, and still get modded down.
Italy is investigating unfair terms of service, and complaints of unfair practices on behalf of users. By their measuring stick consumers are being treated unfairly because of the legalese. They aren't saying Apple is evil, just that their user agreements possibly are.
Straight-up lying now (Score:1)
Apple actually have some pretty fucked up terms and conditions around your content in iCloud including reserving the right to access your content and share it with 3rd parties
Why do Apple Haters have to straight up lie about things you can easily read yourself [apple.com] directly?
Point to anywhere in that document is says what you claim it does?
Try to lie less, every time you lie it lowers you character, until eventually nothing remains but a husk. It is your soul that is pretty fucked up at this point...
Re: Straight-up lying now (Score:1)
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Under GDPR any personal data they collect, including things like your name, email address and metadata on how you use your iCloud account, are all protected. If they want to, say, use that information to send you an email suggesting that you buy more space on your iCloud account then they must ask for affirmative opt-in permission. If you decline they must still provide the service, agreeing cannot be a condition of providing it.
Basically any use of anything that isn't absolutely essential to providing you
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Under GDPR any personal data they collect, including things like your name, email address
Those are distinct from iCloud.
how you use your iCloud account,
They don't collect data on that, it's all anonymized.
Unless you have other proof? No? Didn't think so, because I know how it works.
Fascinating how on a tech site peel are incapable of understanding the most simple technical fact, when Apple is involved.
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Even anonymized data needs permission to be collected. The only way to avoid it is to not collect the data in the first place, which they can't do since you need an Apple account to use iCloud.
The data exists in their databases in order to provide the iCloud service, to use it for anything else even anonymized requires opt-in permission.
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iCloud as no ads (Score:1)
Sure you just get pelted with ads for Apple products any time you try to use it.
The level of igotnarqce on display in regards to Apple is off the charts.
iCloud Drive (and iCloud itself) has zero ads. No ads for the products, no ads for Apple products.
I know that must be impossible for you to imagine, but that is because you have chosen to live in world supported by ads, instead of the tiny niche Apple has carved out, whare you actually pay for things directly (either device or service purchases) and not th
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At one time you had to use iTunes to use a phone. And there were ads in iTunes
Yes I know, I used to use that...
But there were no ads in iTunes either.
Maybe iTunes had ads on Windows? I don't think so though.
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Also, no choice but to use the Apple App Store... tell me there aren't ads there
There are not. There are some promoted apps on a dedicated tab for app discovery, but it's not really ads, and if you search for apps there are zero ads. If you use a link fo ran app you go right to the app page, no ads.
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iCloud is everything for Apple Id users (Score:4, Informative)
In case you didn't know iCloud is used for just about everything concerning your Apple Id, not just typical file storage. Camera, text messages, content from default apps, 3rd party apps, all purchases including Apple credit card, books, music, calendar, contacts. Pretty much everything about you within the Apple ecosystem. Ultimate commercial potential.
Now, based off of how Apple has positioned themselves, I tend to believe they are better than everyone else about not sharing your info outside of Apple, but their ToS says they can, so Italy isn't just being paranoid.
Apple has been playing this "privacy advocate" fiddle a lot lately, but they should probably back that up in writing if they want to be taken seriously.
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