Apple’s ad network gets ‘preferential access to users’ data’ vs Facebook, Google

Apple exempts all their iOS software from their own privacy scaremongering. iOS never pops up a scary dialog warning you that Camera has accessed your location twice in the last week, even though Camera accesses your location every time you start it. There is a completely separate iOS privacy regime for Apple's own apps.

You know, given this forum’s recent experience with misinformation about Apple, I shouldn’t be surprised to read a completely false comment (and another accusing Apple of illegal behavior downthread, also known as actionable libel). And yet here I am, surprised.

Your interpretation of events is a fundamental misunderstanding of how the permissions framework functions on iOS. That you then pivoted that misunderstanding into malevolent intentions from Apple speaks to your biases. Of course, given that you’re a member of this forum, I’d expect you’d find this behavior abhorrent when it comes to things like vaccination or COVID, so I’d only challenge you to think about whether you have all the facts, just as you would with any other contentious topic. The only difference here is that you don’t realize it’s contentious for you.

iOS programs shipped by Apple do not interact with the operating system in a different way with respect to privacy. Full stop. Your entire thesis, conclusion, and argument are not even remotely defensible in their falseness. There are no exemptions carved out in the operating system. First party apps with very few, SVP-documented exceptions (and usually for technical reasons) are held to the exact same standards that third parties adhere to during app submission.

I know this because at one time in my career it was my job to know. Don’t believe me? Reverse the apps.

Can you explain, then, why "Routing and Traffic" is a system service with background access to location services, but iOS never suggests that I might want to turn it off?

Because more apps than Apple Maps consume that information. Your “never ask to turn it off” returns to the complete misunderstanding of how permissions work. You are not prompted because you already granted it access during provisioning, and it’s not asking for background data.

Your allegation that Google Maps is targeted with engineering and architectural decisions is not supported by public evidence and wholly refuted by internal evidence.

I helped build Apple Maps. Please consider yourself uninformed and ask more questions rather than draw conclusions that affirm your biases, particularly if you then come here to spread them.

Google Maps also provides cooked geographic data to other Google applications (such as "Google" FKA "Google Now") but this fact does not exempt it from iOS scaremongering.

So that’s a no on listening rather than continuing down the falsehood path, then? Roger that.