2021 | CompuScoop.com

Apple quietly loosens privacy policy to allow user data collection for targeted advertising

CompuScoop Staff December 8, 2021 0

Apple is allowing app developers to collect data for targeted advertising from Apple device users, in an unacknowledged shift that lets advertisers follow a much looser interpretation of its App Tracking Transparency so-called “privacy” framework.

But seven months later, companies including Snap and Facebook have been allowed to keep sharing user-level signals from iPhones, as long as that data is anonymised and aggregated rather than tied to specific user profiles.

For instance Snap has told investors that it plans to share data from its 306m users — including those who ask Snap “not to track” — so advertisers can gain “a more complete, real-time view” on how ad campaigns are working. Any personally identifiable data will first be obfuscated and aggregated.

Cory Munchbach, chief operating officer at customer data platform BlueConic, said Apple had to stand back from a strict reading of its rules because the disruption to the mobile ads ecosystem would be too great. “Apple can’t put themselves in a situation where they are basically gutting their top-performing apps from a user-consumption perspective,” she said. “That would ultimately hurt iOS.”

Lockdown Privacy, an app that blocks ad trackers, has called Apple’s policy “functionally useless in stopping third-party tracking”. It performed a variety of tests on top apps and observed that personal data and device information is still “being sent to trackers in almost all cases”.

Companies will pledge that they only look at user-level data once it has been anonymised, but without access to the data or algorithms working behind the scenes, users won’t really know if their data privacy has been preserved, said Munchbach. “If historical precedent in adtech holds, those black boxes hide a lot of sins,” she said.

Via: The Financial Times

How to use FaceTime and SharePlay in iOS

Dan Uff December 8, 2021 0

Learn how to use SharePlay with FaceTime to share content with friends and family.

[su_youtube url="https://youtu.be/sbJRknQN5cg"]

Google changes its Terms of Service in 2022

Dan Uff December 7, 2021 1

Google is sending an email to all registered users notifying them of changes to their Terms of Service starting on January 5th, 2022.

The following is a copy of that email:

Dear xxxxxx:

On January 5, 2022, we’re making some changes to our Terms of Service. These changes won’t affect the way you use Google services, but they’ll make it easier for you to understand what to expect from Google — and what we expect from you — as you use our services.

You can review the new terms here. At a glance, here’s what this update means for you:

More clarity on what you can expect from Google and what we expect from you: We’re providing more examples to describe the mutually respectful conduct that we expect from all our users.

Revised warranty disclaimers and limitations of liability: We’re including new warranty disclaimers and limitations of liability to reflect industry standards.

Increased clarity and certainty in case of problems or disagreements: We changed some of the language in the Taking action in case of problems and Settling disputes, governing law, and courts sections to make it clearer what would happen in those situations.

Improved readability: While our terms remain a legal document, we’ve done our best to make them easier to understand, including reorganizing some topics so that they’re easier to find.

If you use Family Link to manage a Google Account for someone else, please take some time to talk to them about these changes.

Thank you for using Google!

 Apple teams up with Boys and Girls Club of America for Swift coding opportunities

Apple Inc December 6, 2021 1

In celebration of Computer Science Education Week, Apple and Boys & Girls Clubs of America today launched a new program that will bring coding to Boys & Girls Clubs in more than a dozen American cities. This new collaboration will bring coding with Swift to tens of thousands of students across America, building on Apple’s existing partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America through the company’s Community Education Initiative in support of its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.

Using iPad and Apple’s free Everyone Can Code curriculum — and with ongoing professional support from Apple educators — kids and teens at local Boys & Girls Clubs will integrate coding into their programming, giving students the opportunity to create and collaborate on the basics of app design and development, with an emphasis on critical thinking and creative problem-solving.

“At Apple, we believe education is a force for equity, and that all learners should have the opportunity to explore and develop coding skills for their future,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, in a statement. “Together with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we’ve already introduced thousands of students to innovative technology experiences, and we are thrilled to expand our partnership to bring coding with Swift to even more communities across the country.”

“Boys & Girls Clubs of America is committed to helping youth reach their full potential, which includes equipping young people with critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will serve them for years to come,” said Jim Clark, Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s president and CEO, in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Apple to enhance Club programming with innovative and educational coding activities that will build kids’ and teens’ engagement and opportunity in technology.”

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="660"] A new collaboration between Apple and Boys & Girls Clubs of America will bring coding with Swift to tens of thousands of young learners across the country.[/caption]

The program will initially launch in 10 new regions, including Atlanta; Austin, Texas; metro D.C.; Miami-Dade County, Florida; Wake County, North Carolina; and Silicon Valley, with the goal of expanding coding opportunities to clubs nationwide. Programming has already launched in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Chicago; Detroit; Nashville, Tennessee; and Newark, New Jersey, where engagement will continue to expand.

In New Jersey, Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City opened a Design Lab and a STEAM Lab last year to support creativity, coding, and career development programming — and the Club is opening a second STEAM Lab in January to create additional opportunities for young learners. The labs are equipped with iPad and Mac computers, and curricula incorporate Everyone Can Code, Everyone Can Create, and Develop in Swift. To prepare its students for future academic and professional pursuits, the Club is also launching a new STEAM pre-apprenticeship program that will teach students the foundations of working on iPad and Mac, eventually giving them the tools to seek a formal App Development with Swift certification.

“Working with Apple this past year has been transformative for our students, who have had the opportunity to explore entirely new ways of thinking, creating, and pursuing their passions,” said Stephanie Koch, Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City’s CEO, in a statement. “The young people we work with are the future of Atlantic City, and we’re proud to partner with Apple to help them gain new skills to grow as learners and prepare for jobs in the 21st-century economy.”

In Detroit, Apple helped support Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan’s summer Code to Career coding course and app challenge. The program brought together young adults ages 18 to 24 to learn the foundations of human interface design and the Swift coding language, using Apple’s Everyone Can Code curriculum. Students worked in small groups to create app prototypes designed to solve a challenge within the community — including fashion sustainability, using hip-hop to build a sense of community, and improving city mobility. The club is now expanding this work further, bringing new devices and coding programming to its 11 locations across Greater Detroit.

Today’s announcement builds on a 2020 initiative through which Apple donated 2,500 devices to Boys & Girls Clubs of America locations in Alabama; Arizona; California; Connecticut; Georgia; Idaho; Illinois; Louisiana; Massachusetts, Michigan; Minnesota; New Jersey; New York; Ohio; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Tennessee; Texas; Washington, D.C.; and Wisconsin.