Data brokers are targeted in a new iPhone privacy ad from Apple which warns viewers pretty bluntly that their data is being sold without consent.
iPhone privacy ad: “Your data is being sold”
The ninety-second video published on Apple’s YouTube channel, embedded near the top of this post, centers on some of the privacy protections built into Apple platforms, such as App Tracking Transparency and Mail Privacy Protection. The video commercial is set to two different songs, “Fantasy” by Esquivel [Apple Music link] and “Playground” by More Giraffes & Sweater Beats [Apple Music link].
With the App Tracking Transparency feature available via Settings → Privacy → Tracking, you can choose whether apps can track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites for the purposes of advertising or sharing with data brokers. The Mail Privacy Protection (included in your iCloud+ subscription and available for Apple’s own Mail app) stops senders from gathering information about your activity by hiding your IP address and preventing senders from seeing whether you’ve opened their emails. Read: How to stop iPhone apps from tracking you