Apple had a tough week and this past weekend took a brilliant aim on rival tech companies with its ad touting its privacy prowess.
“What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone”
The tech narrative has been mired in privacy issues in 2018 and as 2019 begins, companies have started to seriously consider how they protect user data either online or offline. As a power move, the Apple billboard ad is on such a strategic place, it has been plastered on a hotel wall overlooking the Las Vegas Convention Center where some 4,500 exhibitors and attendees who will occupy the 2.8 million square feet space. The tech conference is expected to be flooded with gadgets powered by smart voice assistants like Google Assistant and Alexa – all ranging from smart to the dumb ones.
The sign pays homage to the popular slogan that embodies the resort city – “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” and its message to the attendees is that whatever they’ll be doing in the Nevada capital, Apple will never know.
But does Apple take user’s privacy seriously?
Apple’s privacy is relatively impenetrable but Apple’s default settings undermine this brag including in the location and search settings.
https://twitter.com/PrivacyMatters/status/1052916329706115072?s=19
This other Twitter thread lays out some recent instances:
https://twitter.com/zackwhittaker/status/1081690846091714560?s=19
As the year continues, users are going to be more conscious on matters concerning their personal data and tech companies will have to work even harder to ensure this data doesn’t get exposed or misused especially after the privacy scandals that rocked 2018.
