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iMessage is E2EE (according to Apple). But Apple can still see who's messaging who. With that you get an intimate social graph. Similar to what the NSA has on US citizens via phone records. Apple also says they don't sell your personal info to advertisers. But they can still use that data however they like, and there's nothing stopping them from selling that data at some point in the future.

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Why would they want to sell it. They could license access to it for recurring revenue, like other Big Tech companies.

The most important control that customers should seek is not control over the sale/transfer of data, it is control over how the data may be used, by anyone. For example, if the data comes with terms that say it cannot be used for advertising purposes, then what are the chances anyone can sell it to advertisers.

The "We do not/will not sell your data" line is a deliberate red herring, of no more value than "We take security very seriously".

(Great comment, BTW.)

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