It's a conflict that has been smoldering for months and is now escalating: the one about Apple's handling of the privacy of its customers. But not because Apple is particularly careless – but because it is not. What makes Facebook, more precisely its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, mad. He was now outraged in a conference call with analysts: “I would like to emphasize that we increasingly see Apple as one of our biggest competitors.”
But what is it about?
Apple announced a long time ago that in the future (in spring) it will give its users the option of being able to actively restrict data collection on iPhones via apps. This is intended to prevent customers from apps and advertising services from collecting information about their behavior across the boundaries of individual applications and websites.
Apple has published an eleven-page document on this on its homepage. Customers are shown in pretty detail what data is collected and converted into cash during the day – using the example of a father who spends time with his daughter in the park. And Apple also mentioned that there is over $ 200 billion in industry behind it. Incidentally, the text begins with a quote from Apple founder Steve Jobs, who in 2010 called for users to always be informed exactly what was happening with their data.
Apple is putting some obstacles in the way of Mark Zuckerberg. Because Facebook thrives on its promise to advertising customers to precisely record and address target groups. Which would then no longer be possible with pinpoint accuracy.
Zuckerberg and Facebook had already criticized in recent months that poorer personalized advertising harms small and medium-sized companies in particular. Especially in the corona crisis, they are dependent on the online network as a platform for their business. “Apple may claim that they are doing it to help people – but their steps clearly follow their competitive interests,” complained Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg also shot himself at Apple's iMessage chat service, which competes with Facebook's WhatsApp and Messenger services. The Apple service is preinstalled on all iPhones and is preferred there. In addition, Apple saves iMessage backups by default without end-to-end encryption on its servers if the iCloud service is not switched off. “Apple and governments have the ability to access messages from most people,” said Zuckerberg. Thanks to complete encryption, however, chat content on WhatsApp is basically only available in plain text for those involved.
Recently, Facebook struggled with its WhatsApp users with noticeable departures after new data protection rules were published. Zuckerberg felt compelled to state once again that “this update does not change data protection for chats with friends and family”.
Billions in profits for Facebook and Apple
In fact, user data is not Apple's business model, it does not sell the information about its customers – users, for example with iPhones, have to dig deeper into their pockets. Facebook, on the other hand, earns its money with advertising. And doesn't make it so bad:
In the past quarter, sales rose a third year-on-year to just under $ 28.1 billion. In terms of profit, there was a jump of 53 percent to a good $ 11.2 billion. The number of users also increased. 2.8 billion users come to Facebook at least once a month – 60 million more than a year earlier. For the future, however, expectations were dampened: If the thrust from Corona is reversed, this will slow down the growth in advertising revenues.
At Apple, however, it seems to be going like clockwork. According to market researcher IDC, the company advanced to become the world's largest smartphone seller in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, knocking Samsung off the throne. In the Christmas quarter, the company had a record profit of $ 28.7 billion, and with sales of $ 111.4 billion (plus 21 percent), it broke the hundred billion dollar mark for the first time. (nst / ag.)
