As part of efforts to comply with the European Union's (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Apple launched earlier this year a new data and privacy portal meant to let users control the information associated with their account. The tech giant initially rolled out the service in the EU and promised to introduce it to more countries in the future. That day has finally arrived.
Today, Apple has released the privacy tool to its users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, allowing them to view, modify, download, or even delete the data it collected. By the end of the year, the Cupertino-based company also plans to roll out the tool to more countries across the world.
The pieces of information that users will be able to find in the privacy website include sign-in records, bookmarks, contacts, documents, photos stored in iCloud, app usage stats, App Store purchase history, and AppleCare support history gathered through Apple devices. While these data are stored in those devices, they are encrypted with the user’s passcode so that Apple itself and third-parties like law enforcers won't be able to view them using any method. The tool is just one of the many ways Apple is working to bolster and uphold the privacy of its users.
Source: Reuters