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Apple has revealed an updated privacy website that gives users details on the tech giant’s approach to personal data.
The site includes links to the company’s previously released transparency reports, as well as explaining how its devices use encryption and other methods to keep data safe.
Data privacy has become a central area of debate in the technology industry following the Cambridge Analytica scandal and a series of high-profile data breaches.
Apple devices such as the iPhone and Apple Watch gather large amounts of data from and about users, but the company’s long-standing policy has been to encrypt this information on-device, preventing even Apple from accessing it without explicit user permission.
The new website includes an explanation of what Apple calls Differential Privacy, which randomises the data users choose to share with Apple, meaning it can not be linked back to their device.
It also references the company’s previous run-in with law enforcement agencies in the US over gaining access to data: “We also refuse to add a back door into any of our products,” it says.
In 2016, Apple refused an FBI request to build software to help unlock the iPhone of a terror suspect, saying that if such software fell into the wrong hands it could be used against innocent people.
The pages of the revamped site also encourage users to review and enhance their privacy settings.
Alongside the website, US users have also been given the opportunity to download a copy of all their data from the company, following the rollout of the tool in Europe after the launch of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) this year.
Users must authenticate using their Apple ID before they can receive the data.
