Sep 11, 2023 21:00:00

Pointed out that Meta's SNS 'Threads' highlights the reality that 'Apple's data protection is an illusion'

On July 6, 2023, Meta released the SNS application 'Threads', which is seen as a rival to X, which was then called Twitter, but due to privacy concerns, it was not released in the EU at the time of article creation. I have not. ``Growth Design'', which disseminates information and knowledge about design, explains in easy-to-understand slide materials the problems with the privacy practices of Meta, the developer of Threads, and Apple, which approves the distribution of apps on the App Store. Did.

Apple vs Meta: The Illusion of Privacy

https://growth.design/case-studies/apple-privacy-policy

The following is the URL that was accessed above. You can move to the next page by pressing the bottom right button or the right arrow key on your keyboard.

Dan Benoni, co-founder of Growth Design, heard about Threads and installed the Threads app from the App Store to try it out. At this point, Mr. Benoni's mental level gauge, which represents his feelings, has increased by 5 points.

Mr. Benoni, who logged in with his Instagram account without any problems, decided to continue registration even though he was a little stuck on the privacy settings screen.

However, it completely stopped at the 'How Threads work' screen.

This is because the gray links were hidden like camouflage within the gray text, as if Threads was trying to hide the details of the personal information it handles. At this point, Mr. Benoni's mental level gauge, which had been rising, dropped by 5 points.

In order to see what kind of data is handled by Threads, Mr. Benoni returned to the App Store's

Threads page and scrolled down the screen. Then, it turns out that health data, financial information, browsing history, and even sensitive information such as confidential information is collected, and the gauge goes down another 10 points.

To see what other data is used, tap 'Other data'.

The following is displayed. Due to the size of the scrollbar, it turns out that there is an awful lot of information listed on this page.

At this point, Mr. Benoni's gauge went down even further.

Furthermore, the content of this data is highly personal, such as message content, sexual orientation, and health and medical information. Mr. Benoni can't help but blurt out, 'That's super creepy!'

According to additional information displayed here, Threads has not been able to start service in the EU due to privacy issues, and the future is becoming even more doubtful due to the European Court of Justice's

ruling in Germany.

Benoni said, 'What's even crazier is that Meta asks for all the data about your life and shamelessly hides it under the 'How it works' screen.'

This is said to be aimed at the psychological term ``

framing ,'' which refers to the fact that a user's decision-making is influenced by the way information is presented.

Benoni points out that if you try to delete your Threads account after starting Threads without realizing this, your Instagram account will also be deleted, so your Instagram account is like a hostage. .

Based on the above, Mr. Benoni gave Threads a transparency level rating of 'between 0 and 1.'

Mr. Benoni believes that it is okay for trivial data to be collected, but says, ``If the privacy invasion caused by data collection is serious, we must ensure appropriate transparency. The problem is that it degrades the sex.

The ratio between the degree of data collection and transparency is called the 'TI ratio,' an acronym for transparency and intrusiveness, and approaches like Threads are described as having a 'low TI ratio.' It is said that it will be done.

If Meta is transparent enough to match the data it collects, the 'How it works' screen will look like the one on the right. However, it is hopeless to expect such transparency from Meta.

So, what about Apple, which spends a large amount of advertising money to promote privacy protection and acts like a guardian of privacy? That's not the case.

'If you look at the data collection that Apple allows behind the scenes, Apple is like this guy,' Benoni said, circulating an internet meme of a man doing a body check by stroking his clothes. said.

Apple is working on an initiative that allows apps to be

set to disallow tracking, but tests have shown that even if this setting is set, it is not as effective as expected because advertisers can easily collect data. That's it.

If Apple cares about privacy as much as it advertises, Benoni suggests that there should be a prominent privacy warning on the Threads distribution page.

We'll also tell you at a glance if an app respects your privacy. This gives companies and app developers an incentive to respect privacy.

Let me review the process so far. First of all, Mr. Benoni's mental level starts at a positive level because he was able to easily implement the app.

However, I noticed something suspicious on the 'How Threads Work' screen, and my mental level immediately dropped.

Then you return to the App Store, disgusted by Threads' creepy collection of personal information, and even more depressed when you realize that Apple's claims about privacy aren't all that reliable either.

After that, Mr. Benoni realized that ``If Apple really values privacy, they should display a clear warning on the App Store'' and reached a state of enlightenment.