Apple Collects the Least Amount of User Data Out of Major Tech Companies, Study Suggests

Out of the major tech giants, Apple collects the least amount of private user data from its users, with more data being collected by others.

The amount of data points each company collects was measured. According to the study, 39 data points were collected for each of the users. The two companies collect 24 and 23 data points for each user.

Facebook is known to be in favor of user tracking but it only collects 14 data points for each user. The study states that Apple only collects 12 data points for each user. Apple uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to dictate personalization features such as personalized music recommendations for Apple Music and photos in Photos.

While Apple collects less user data than other companies, it's making it harder for them to get it. In 2020, Apple launched App Tracking transparency, a prompt that gives users the choice of whether they want to be tracked across apps and websites owned by other companies. It was revealed last year that the prompt change could have cost social media companies $10 billion in revenue.