iPhone tracking users? Apple dragged to court over shocking privacy accusation

In a shocking turn of events, some iPhone users are claiming that Apple collected their personal data despite the fact that privacy settings expressly forbade that. This comes after certain recent research highlighted how multiple iPhone apps send Apple analytics data, irrespective of the curbs on the iPhone privacy settings.

As per a report by Gizmodo, the issue was first observed by two independent researchers named Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry of the software company Mysk. It says that the Apple App Store shares almost all information about the user activity in the app. Some popular Apple apps such as Apple Music, Apple TV, Books, and Stocks are on the list of data-collecting apps.

Resultantly, Apple is now facing a Class Action lawsuit from iPhone users for violating the California Invasion of the Privacy Act.

Apple allegedly collects personal data of iPhone users

A video shared by the company Mysk on YouTube explained how Apple’s App Store harvests the personal data of iPhone users in real-time. This includes even keys that you type, ads that you have watched, apps that you have visited, or even the duration of time that you spent on App Store listing. It also revealed that the information that Apple collects also includes some ID number of the iPhone that you are using along with its display resolution, internet connection, and the language of the keyboard.

Gizmodo report quoted researcher Tommy Mysk as saying, “The level of detail is shocking for a company like Apple.” It further says that data can be sensitive especially when apps connect the topics such as religion, health, LGBTQ, or details about personal life.

“Through its pervasive and unlawful data tracking and collection business, Apple knows even the most intimate and potentially embarrassing aspects of the user’s app usage—regardless of whether the user accepts Apple’s illusory offer to keep such activities private,” the lawsuit available on the Bloomberg Law site mentioned.