Apple’s plan for ‘spatial computing’ may redefine personal computing – and also facilitate trouble new kinds of surveillance.

Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset – which the company hopes is a “revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories, and enjoy entertainment” – that begins shipping to the public (in the United States).

The data Apple collects is not “consumer” data like the brand of toothpaste you buy. It is more akin to medical data.

For instance, analysing a person’s unconscious movements can reveal their emotional state or even predict neurodegenerative disease. This is called “biometrically inferred data” as users are unaware their bodies are giving it up.

Apple suggests it won’t share this type of data with anyone.

  • 4dpuzzle@beehaw.orgEnglish
    12·
    10 months ago

    it doesn’t upload your offline activity?

    As this WaPo article states, they doesn’t even have to upload your activity online to be very invasive. Imagine mapping your room and your house and loading it online to share with your visitors - this will happen. It technically comes within what Apple considers as private - but is still very dangerous. The yard stick to judge Apple by is the case of airtags. They didn’t care about the stalking problem of airtags until there was a huge uproar. And even then, the solution they released was very half-hearted.

    • conciselyverbose@kbin.social
      8·
      10 months ago

      What are you talking about?

      Despite the fact that GPS trackers without restrictions literally already existed, are unconditionally legal and legitimate to have, and were readily available to bad actors, they heavily limited the functionality out of the gate to limit the benefit to malicious use cases.

      • 4dpuzzle@beehaw.orgEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Airtags aren’t just GPS trackers. They use the apple devices to ensure coverage. And no, Apple wasn’t too enthusiastic about limiting its functionality until it became a PR disaster. Even the solution now is not satisfactory.

          • 4dpuzzle@beehaw.orgEnglish
            1·
            10 months ago

            Yeah. Go ahead and start abusing when you have nothing meaningful to argue with. And like all such unimaginative abusers, you always get it wrong.

              • 4dpuzzle@beehaw.orgEnglish
                1·
                10 months ago

                You can’t bill it as imaginary just because you don’t like it. Cases of stalking and spying using airtags are all over the news. And asking for people’s privacy to be respected isn’t anti-tech. You’re just so full of strawman arguments and nothing more.

                And it’s rich for you to accuse me of bad faith when all you do to support your arguments are personal attacks.