How to get a copy of what Apple tracks and knows about you
At this point if we aren’t sure, we at least assume big tech companies have plenty of data on us. Facebook’s issues there have been well documented, and it has come out that Google has been keeping tabs on us, too.
And as much as Apple talks about privacy, they are in the same boat. The tech giant knows some stuff about us, although it is significantly less than the other companies have been revealed to be collecting.
Still, Apple understands why people would be concerned about what they know, which is why they have launched a website dedicated to letting you see it all. It’s simple to use, and is pretty enlightening.
How to see what Apple knows about you
First, go to privacy.apple.com. That will take you to a page where you will be asked to provide your Apple ID. You will then be taken to a page that looks like this:
As you see, there are a few options in front of you. At the top is one to get a copy of your data, which as noted could include things like your calendars, photos or documents.
To download, click on the blue “Get started >.” That will bring you to a new screen that shows you what all data you can download. To individually select specific things you will want to check the box on the right, but we’d recommend you choose “Select all,” which will mark every box for download.
Scrolling down the page a bit more will reveal three more boxes that will still be unchecked. They are your iCloud Drive files and documents, iCloud Mail and iCloud Photos. They too can be downloaded, but Apple warns they may be large and thus take a long time to get done.
If you want to add them to your haul, you can manually check each of the three boxes or click on “Select all.”
Once you have everything you want selected, scroll to the bottom of the page until you see a blue box that says “Continue.” Click on it and get to the next page, which allows you to choose a maximum file size so that your download can be as convenient as possible.
After you set that up, you need only click on the blue box that says “Complete request” to finish the process. Once it goes through, you will go to a screen that says they are preparing your data and will email you when it is ready.
Apple warns the process could take up to seven days, during which time they will make sure the request was made by you. The status of your request can be viewed at any time by going to privacy.apple.com/account.
Tags: Apple, email, Facebook, Google, photos, privacy, shows, tech
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