A federal judge has recently narrowed the scope of a lawsuit accusing Apple of violating the privacy rights of iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users. The original lawsuit alleged that Apple collects personal data through its applications, including the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple TV, even when users have turned off tracking options.
Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, dismissed most of the allegations related to the ‘Allow Apps to Request to Track’ setting. He stated that Apple had specified that this setting only applied to ‘other companies’ apps and websites, not the company’s apps.
However, the lawsuit continues over the ‘Share [Device] Analytics’ setting. Users accuse Apple of still collecting data even when they have turned off this setting, which goes against the company’s commitment. Apple claims it collects this data to improve products and services, but users argue that they are not informed and have no real choice in the matter.
This lawsuit is one of many targeting major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook, accusing them of collecting user data without explicit consent.
As of now, neither Apple nor the plaintiff’s lawyer have officially commented. The case will continue to be heard, focusing on the ‘Share [Device] Analytics’ setting.