Mysk says that the data Apple keeps about what you do in the App Store can be tied to your Apple account. According to Mysk, Apple sends a "Directory Services Identifier" along with its App Store data, which is linked to your email address, and more.
The thread states that the data is still sent even if you turn off device analytics in settings and that Apple sends your DSID in other apps as well. Mysk said in the thread that you just need to know three things. It is not possible to stop it. The data is connected to you.
Apple didn't immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment on whether it's linking personal info to this sort of data, but let's take a look at what its own privacy policies have to say It may be surprising, but it isn't necessarily damning.
In its thread, Mysk points to a line in Apple's privacy document that says "None of the collected information identifies you personally". Privacy preserving techniques such as differential privacy are used to remove personal data from reports before they are sent to Apple. One thing worth noting is that later on in the document, Apple says that it may correlate some usage data about Apple apps across devices that are signed into the same iCloud account but that it does so in a way that won't let.
There are rules about how Apple tracks you in the App Store and in Apple News and Stocks. In that document, Apple admits that it is following you. The first section shows that this is not the same as the device analytics policy.
Information about your browsing, purchases, searches, and downloads are used to find ways to improve the stores. When you sign up for the App Store or other Apple online stores, your records are stored with an internet Protocol address, a random unique identification number, and an Apple ID. When you open the App Store, what content you search for, the content you view and download, and your interactions with App Store push notifications are some of the information Apple lays out. Everything you do in the app store is monitored by Apple.
The policy shows the amount of personal info and data that Apple collects for its app recommendations and advertisements, but there are controls for those that let you turn off or limit data collection. The "Improving the Stores" section of the App Store doesn't mention any settings that would prevent Apple from seeing that information.
Users might think that turning off device analytics would stop this kind of data collection. It's not hard to see why they would want to turn that option off, as it would deprive Apple of data about how you use your devices and applications. It doesn't say that applications themselves can do all sorts of tracking outside of the system, which is why almost all of Apple's apps have their own privacy agreements.
You don't get to make a billboard that says "what happens on your phone, stays on your phone" and constantly bray about how much you care about privacy without inviting some skepticism, as Apple gets a lot of scrutiny around its privacy policies. Apple has turned the screws on other advertising companies when it comes to how they can collect user data on its platforms, as it seems to make ads a bigger part of its business. It doesn't seem like what Mysk turned up doesn't break Apple's rules, but I think a lot of its users would be surprised
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