iPhone6 IOS8.1 Privacy Concerns
After downloading IOS 8.1, I can't use Dictation without giving Apple access to my personal information, including Contacts, which especially concerns me. What the heck? This is one of the most useful things about using a smart phone for texting and email. What has Apple done? Supposedly Siri has the same conditions, though that pop-up hasn't come yet for Siri. Any way around this? I am very upset.
Comments
Siri needs access to your contacts to know who you are and who everyone else is in relation to you (and for, you know, sending them things). Does that info even leave the device?
Dictation doesn’t need it.
I agree, Dictation should not need it, but the pop-up says if I hit "Agree" I will be agreeing to send "Apple" my contacts and other information. I would be okay if it stayed with the device, but that does not seem to be the case. I remain very concerned, have not "Agreed" to these terms, and so have lost an important smartphone function on my new iPhone6. Doesn't anyone else care about this? It stinks. Apple, any response from you??
I am so glad that I have found this thread!!! I literally have just got off the phone with Apple after being on the phone with all levels of their company for almost 2 hours FOR EXACTLY THIS ISSUE! I was shocked to read that "disclaimer" that all of my "user data" is now being collected just to use Dictation! Supposedly for our "convenience". I am attaching the screen shot of this new Privacy Policy below!
The main outcome after twice calling the main switchboard, speaking with two senior customer relations people and one senior tech support adviser (not including all the low level people I had to wade through): "THAT IS JUST HOW IT IS".
MY ISSUES / WHAT HAPPENED
- I understand that Apple is supposedly collecting this data so that "Siri" can "work better" at helping me find what I am looking for. But Siri and my Dictation worked fine for years in iOS7!
- NONE OF THE PEOPLE I SPOKE TO SEEMED TO CARE ABOUT OR ACKNOWLEDGE THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN USING SIRI AND USING DICTATION!
- MY MAIN QUESTION TO APPLE "Is this a new policy or has this data been being collected all along with out us necessarily knowing about it?" I believe there is a possibility that this is ALWAYS how it has worked and customers have simply never known about it. Apple may just be deciding to tell us that it has been trolling our "User Data" in order for Siri to work.
- No one was able to confirm for me when this new policy was activated - most likely with the new Privacy Policy in Sept 2014 which coincided with the release of iOS8: http://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy/
- There is no way to downgrade to a previous iOS if I want to revert back to iOS 7 where this data collection was not happening
- A big issue for me today is that there is no "official" or easy way to find the PREVIOUS Privacy Policy for iOS7 ANYWHERE! Anyone have it out there and want to share it here?
- After all of that time on the phone, I was told I had to resort to using an online form to speak to the department at Apple that might actually be able to answer these questions and "maybe" will be able to send me the previous Privacy Policy.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1) Here is the link to that form and I recommend EVERYONE WHO READS THIS TO PLEASE SUBMIT A COMPLAINT!!! http://www.apple.com/privacy/contact/
2) Call The Apple Switchboard and complain!!! Ask for CLARITY ON THIS AND CHOICE TO NOT HAVE YOUR DATA COLLECTED IN THIS WAY! ~ 408-996-1010
By the way, I just found a good post about this in the Apple online support communities!
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6623240?tstart=0