Earlier this month, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook blasted other companies (such as Google and Facebook) for monetizing the supposed private data of its users. He was quoted then as saying, “They’re gobbling up everything they can learn about you and trying to monetize it. We think that’s wrong. And it’s not the kind of company that Apple wants to be.”So is Cook all talk and no walk? Nope, it sounds like he is a man of his word because it has recently been discovered that in iOS 9, Apple will be preventing other iOS apps from seeing what kind of apps you might have installed on your phone. Previously this allowed companies who rely heavily on advertising to gather information about what you like in order to serve up ads catered towards your tastes.
This is according to Amir Efrati of The Information (subscription required; via AppleInsider) in which the feature is expected to debut with iOS 9 which is scheduled for release this fall, presumably alongside the new iPhones. This is also reflective of Apple’s stance with regards to user privacy, something that the company has become increasingly transparent about over the years.
In fact following the Snowden reports that the government is spying on its own people, companies such as Apple have come forward to share how they go about dealing with such requests, and have also promised to routinely notify their customers whenever such requests are made. That being said, it’s safe to say that ads and companies that rely on data gathering won’t be too pleased with Apple’s latest policy.