Apple joins Data Transfer Project with other cloud service giants

Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2019
Apple has become the latest partner of the Data Transfer Project, a scheme that involves Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and other contributors to create an open-source way for users to shift their data between different cloud services.




Launched in 2018, the Data Transfer Project is working to produce software and systems to enable the transfer of a user's personal data from one data store to another. While the other big-name tech companies joined the project last summer, Apple has only just joined the effort.

Currently, if a user wants to move their personal data from services, they have to use the different export tools offered by each firm, such as Apple's Data and Privacy portal. While the data can be requested, it isn't offered in a standardized way that could be immediately used by another service.

The Data Transfer Project aims to change this by making the export and import tools of each company compatible with each other, allowing for a smoother transfer of data for consumers. The vast majority of the work is out of sight of consumers, using existing APIs and authorization mechanisms alongside service-specific adapters to translate data to a common format that can be plugged into the receiving service's API.

Ultimately, this could mean a situation where an Android user moving to iOS could request to port their customer data over from Google's services, including Play, over to Apple's servers.

So far the project has resulted in more than 42,000 lines of code across 1,500 files from 18 contributing entities. Since the launch, the project has added framework features such as cloud logging ad monitoring, as well as adding updated integrations for new APIs from Google Photos and Smugmug, and new integrations for Deezer, Mastodon, and Tim Berners-Lee's Solid.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Guys, try looking into Ethereum or Hashgraph if you want an open and secure standard. I guess there’s also Filecoin which could be useful eventually.
    edited July 2019
  • Reply 2 of 8
    bsimpsenbsimpsen Posts: 398member
    So far the project has resulted in more than 42,000 lines of code across 1,500 files from 18 contributing entities.
    I, a single individual, write more than that in year.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 8
    This
    Ultimately, this could mean a situation where an Android user moving to iOS could request to port their customer data over from Google's services, including Play, over to Apple's servers.

    Or vice-versa
    and it provides a lovely vector for identity theft. Someone (including the TLA's) could falsely request the transfer of all your iCloud data to their Google cloud account etc.

    Lovely jubbly.
    Now how do I get all my stuff from iCloud and totally disable it?


  • Reply 4 of 8
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,624member
    This good news. I'm sure the EU would have passed legislation at some point to tackle the issue but the fact that is being looked at and progressing is great for consumers as long as there are no 'gotchas' blocking the way.

    It makes a lot of sense. I tried Google Takeout a few years ago and it looked very promising. Things have got incredibly more complex since then so anything that simplifies the process is welcome.

    I wonder if there is a way to legally 'freeze' an account and import it into an existing account and keep the data seperate within the holding account. For example when someone dies and wants to leave a digital legacy to someone.
    boboliciousbobolicious
  • Reply 5 of 8
    boxcatcherboxcatcher Posts: 267member
    Sounds like a perfect use-case for Apache NiFi
  • Reply 6 of 8
    boboliciousbobolicious Posts: 1,139member
    This
    Ultimately, this could mean a situation where an Android user moving to iOS could request to port their customer data over from Google's services, including Play, over to Apple's servers.

    Or vice-versa
    and it provides a lovely vector for identity theft. Someone (including the TLA's) could falsely request the transfer of all your iCloud data to their Google cloud account etc.

    Lovely jubbly.
    Now how do I get all my stuff from iCloud and totally disable it?


    Are cloud services a risky idea generally, in 4 year old logic terms, fundamentally undermining what I understand as a founding concept of the internet as a distributed and unassailable data network ? https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/30/business/hack-targets-capital-one-hacker/index.html
  • Reply 7 of 8
    ierikierik Posts: 3member
    avon b7 said:
    This good news. I'm sure the EU would have passed legislation at some point to tackle the issue but the fact that is being looked at and progressing is great for consumers as long as there are no 'gotchas' blocking the way.

    It makes a lot of sense. I tried Google Takeout a few years ago and it looked very promising. Things have got incredibly more complex since then so anything that simplifies the process is welcome.

    I wonder if there is a way to legally 'freeze' an account and import it into an existing account and keep the data seperate within the holding account. For example when someone dies and wants to leave a digital legacy to someone.
    Actually the EU already has a law for that as part of GDPR, the portability of data is a requirement. Until now everyone was wondering how this would work, as companies like Apple, Google etc... are required to allow you to request you data be transferred to another service. So this must be the answer. And again, don't believe anything these companies are doing it out of the goodness of their heart...
    gatorguy
  • Reply 8 of 8
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    ierik said:
    avon b7 said:
    This good news. I'm sure the EU would have passed legislation at some point to tackle the issue but the fact that is being looked at and progressing is great for consumers as long as there are no 'gotchas' blocking the way.

    It makes a lot of sense. I tried Google Takeout a few years ago and it looked very promising. Things have got incredibly more complex since then so anything that simplifies the process is welcome.

    I wonder if there is a way to legally 'freeze' an account and import it into an existing account and keep the data seperate within the holding account. For example when someone dies and wants to leave a digital legacy to someone.
    Actually the EU already has a law for that as part of GDPR, the portability of data is a requirement. Until now everyone was wondering how this would work, as companies like Apple, Google etc... are required to allow you to request you data be transferred to another service. So this must be the answer. And again, don't believe anything these companies are doing it out of the goodness of their heart...
    Wonderfully observant post. Yes that does make sense now as to why Apple would join the effort. Not so much choice as necessity. 
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