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Comment by maskedinvader | Hacker News Reader

3. Every other app has to ask user to "opt in", default is "opt out" while for apples own prompt the user has to "opt out", default is "opt in". This alone is evidence they are not subject to the same restrictions.

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Not quite. Apps subject to ATT rules have to ask permission to permit tracking across apps and/or websites. All apps have to declare what personal information that they’re interested in. Here’s a link to Numbers: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/numbers/id409203825?mt=12

It declares:

Data Linked to You The following data, which may be collected and linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:

    Analytics
      Identifiers
        User ID
        Device ID

      Usage Data
        Product Interaction

      Diagnostics
        Performance Data
        Other Diagnostic Data

    App Functionality
      Contact Info
        Email Address
        Name
        Phone Number

      User Content
        Photos or Videos
        Audio Data
        Other User Content

      Identifiers
        User ID

My bet is that the Stocks app says the same thing, and that people are confusing OS data collection permissions with app data collection permissions.

> people are confusing OS data collection permissions with app data collection permissions

Is that a meaningful distinction? "Oh, yes, we _do_ collect data from you, but have no fear, it's from the OS, not from an app!"

Either way, data is collected.

It is meaningful in that people generally have separate expectations from the OS itself than from apps. That is, IMO the current hullabaloo about the Apple stock app (which can be uninstalled), etc. is nonsensical as it would fall under the privacy declaration of the app, not under the OS itself—but it’s presented as an iOS problem.

It may be an Apple problem regardless, but OS settings about data collection do not control app settings about data collection. Should the apps have those data collection settings? Certainly. But now you’re getting into something that Apple would be building that you can guaran-damn-tee that they will force other applications to implement (because it’s good for the user).

You're being disengenous, Apple's own apps request location data the same as any other. I know this because of having denied the permission when prompted.

I was talking about the apple os prompts when setting up a new iphone/ipad.

Yeah I just setup a new phone and the prompt is "would you like to enable location services?" then it lists the reasons it will use it, including weather, find my, etc. I typically hit disable there, and then manually enable it for the things I do want to give access to.

Do you have any evidence of this? Setting up an iPhone or iPad asks the user to opt-in to Apple's tracking. The only reason it would be opt-out is if you opted in previously and a software update has revised the permissions/tracking for that app. If you've previously opted-in, then the default is not opt-in. You're just seeing it that way because of your previous allowance.

Maybe youre right, that its remembering previous opt in setting and defaulting to opt when setting up new iphone, but I am 100% sure its not the same behavior for other 3rd party apps, they always default opt out regardless what option you chose the previous time you installed the app.

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