"Hello Everyone and welcome to another edition of Privacy Tips, the sister podcast for Stupid Sexy Privacy.
I’m your host, BJ Mendelson
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Now, my friends,

I have to confess something: I was an Apple fanboy.
I wouldn't say I loved Apple the way I love The Venture Bros., but from the early '90s to right now, I've almost exclusively used their stuff.
But then, two things happened:
First, I read We Have Been Harmonized by Kai Strittmatter, and I started to have questions about Apple's role in empowering the authoritarian government of Xi Jinping in China. (If you're wondering if we're going to talk about the book, Apple In China, at some point on Stupid Sexy Privacy, yes you better believe we will.)
Second, My ears perked up when Apple started to say stuff like, "Privacy is at the center of everything we do.” Is it though?
Now, I get it.
Apple is positioning itself as the opposite of Google, Meta, and Amazon.
And when compared to those companies, sure. They're less invasive.
But less invasive doesn't mean non-invasive.
Apple still collects a ton of information on you.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't use Apple products.
I'm reading this script on a Macbook Air for example.
That’s because, for most people, in most cases, an Apple MacBook Pro is the computer we recommend you use.
But there are steps we recommend, if you're going to continue to use an Apple device.
And given some of the embarrassing groveling done by Apple CEO Tim Cook, we also recommend that once you get that device? You take care of it and hold on to it for as long as you can.
Like a car, you don’t need to buy a new computer every few years if you take care of it.
That brings us to today’s privacy tip …

Privacy Tip: What Does Apple Know About You?
If you visit https://privacy.apple.com and sign-in, you'll see a set of options to choose from.

Click or tap on "Request a copy of your data."
Then, you will have to take the following steps three times, since Apple won't let you just select every single option in one shot. It’s super annoying. Almost as if they don’t want you to easily access your own information.
Apple will then give you three options: iCloud, Apple Pay, and Apps and Services.
Let's use Apps and Services for our example today.
You'll want to select all the boxes under Apps and Services, and then click or tap on the word "Continue."
Apple will then ask how big of a file size you want your data in, and you're going to select 1 GB, then click on "Complete Request."
The next time you log in to this website, you'll see a message like I have in the screenshot in today’s story, where it says. "Data request in progress."
Now go ahead and repeat this step for iCloud and then one more time for Apple Pay.
Getting your data from Apple usually takes about two weeks.
Within that time, you'll get an email from Apple with all your data in a zip file.
You can then examine that data.
First by double clicking on the Zip file to open it, and then selecting each of the files within, by right clicking and selecting "Open With."
Then, you you can choose the Text Edit program to take a closer look.
Congratulations, you now know (almost) everything Apple has on you.
You'll then want to save this data on your external hard drive.
Ok, now, some of you may be asking: But What Do I DO With This Data?
And that's going to depend on where you live.
If you're ready to switch from Apple to a Linux computer using Pop!_OS, or from an iPhone to an Android Pixel running GrapheneOS? You can have this data deleted, along with your Apple account, because you won't need that Apple ID anymore.
But that's not most people.
Most people want their iPhone, which means they need to keep their Apple account.
So from there, the advice depends on what state or country you live in.
For our American listeners, the odds are good you live in a state that doesn't provide a legal framework to have your data deleted upon request.
So, for now, you do nothing beyond saving this data.
If you live in a state that does have privacy laws, such as the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) you can make Apple delete this information without losing your account.
So, stay tuned. Because we're going to talk about how to have your data removed in these specific states in upcoming episodes.
And if you don't have legislation like the CCPA — which is the majority of Americans — we're going to give you the tools to advocate that such laws be passed on the State level.

"Today’s episode of Privacy Tips was recorded in Hollywood, California and is sponsored by DuckDuckGo.
It was written, produced, and hosted by me. B.J. Mendelson.
Before we go, I want to give a shout out to the production team at Stupid Sexy Privacy which includes Andrew VanVoorhis, Rosie Tran, and Amanda King.
And, of course, our friends at DuckDuckGo.
If you enjoyed today’s show, we hope you’ll take a moment to leave a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you may be listening.
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You see, we have this crazy goal, and we need your help to achieve it.
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Leaving us a review can help make that happen.
That’s because your reviews will help other people find this show.
So, please take a moment to leave us a review, and we'll see you next time on Privacy Tips