Another Privacy Win for Consumers -- Even Apple Isn't Immune
Posted by Kraig Baker
Last week, Apple launched a new version of iTunes that included a "MiniStore." The MiniStore was designed to recommend new music to users. What Apple didn't disclose, however, was that in order to make the recommendations, they were monitoring users listening habits and using an ID that was tied to personal information. Moreover, Apple had this services turned on by default. After a large hue and cry, Apple has now agreed to turn off this service by default -- as Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing says, it should have done from the beginning. I think this is interesting for two reasons. First, it shows that consumers are sensitive to use of their personal information even in the case of "trusted" and "cult" brands like Apple or Google. In other words, consumer privacy concerns extend to the method of collection, not just the entity doing the collection. Second, it demonstrates once again that companies are very sensitive to consumer backlash regarding misuse of personal information. Look for more of these types of incidents as consumer demands for more personalization and customization collide with increasing sensitivity to monitoring and use of personal information.