Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset – which the company hopes is a “revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment” – that begins shipping to the public (in the United States).
The data Apple collects is not “consumer” data like the brand of toothpaste you buy. It is more akin to medical data.
For instance, analysing a person’s unconscious movements can reveal their emotional state or even predict neurodegenerative disease. This is called “biometrically inferred data” as users are unaware their bodies are giving it up.
Apple suggests it won’t share this type of data with anyone.
The headline feels a bit alarmist to me. The article itself is a bit better and more nuanced, but still I feel they are putting way to much drama around this device while almost all these issues already exist as small slabs of electronics that we wear all the time. Combined with smartwatches, smartphones do almost all the spying that is described here and add some GPS tracking wherever you go.
This is not to say that this is not a big issue, merely that this issue is not related to this new device. And also I believe Apple is in fact the only big tech provider that actually tries to be somewhat privacy conscious (Google and Microsoft don’t give damn).
I mean, Apple already gives you the option to collect this type of data using Apple Watch and iPhone - if you want it to. One of the most interesting is gait analysis that can warn you if you are getting a bit wobbly and have increased risk of falling. The already do facial scanning for FaceID (held on-device in the Secure Enclave) and offers the ability to scan the shape of your ears to get the best from it’s Atmos audio when wearing headphones. There’s never been any suggestion that Apple exfiltrates this stuff for any purpose other than those selected by the user.
Hard pass.
Wait until people find out what their smart watches are already cataloging. 🙄
Spying on our bodies? The device processes data about your face and surroundings in order to function the way it does. This is all processed on-device (it works offline) and is not sent to Apple in any way.
Calling this “spying” is the equivalent of saying a camera is spying on you when you record video with it.
Uhh, unless you work for Apple, on this product’s team, you’re no more informed about what it is really doing than we are. Imo, people should be concerned about this kind of technology.
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There will be scores of people looking for evidence this new device is doing something Apple has not disclosed. This is how security researchers make a name for themselves.
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The engineers on the team building this product will not want to be associated with building something nefarious. These engineers are just regular people. You can find them online and speak with them. They look for jobs at other firms just like we all do. Unless they are being paid so well that they won’t ever have to work again, they can’t ruin their reputations.
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If you really believe what this post is purporting, I’ll remind you that you are most likely carrying a device with you every day that has a microphone and internet access. If you aren’t, you are still surrounded by people who are.
The claims this post is making will simply make people tune out or ignore real security concerns.
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