Boffins at Finland's Aalto University, Amel Bourdoucen and Janne Lindqvist have been poking around and found that Apple's apps are a bit of a Peeping Tom, and the settings to stop them are as baffling as a Cockney rhyming slang.
While the fruity cargo cult has been busy patting themselves on the back for keeping the baddies out, they've made a dog's dinner of their user interfaces. The result is that folks turn off apps only to find out later that they're still on—it's like trying to turn off a tap that's been welded open.
"Our results demonstrate users are not correctly able to configure the desired privacy settings of default apps. In addition, we discovered that some default app configurations can even reduce trust in family relationships."
The paper also targets Apple's Siri. You might think you've told it to shut its trap during setup, but it's still there, lurking in the background, listening in on your chats like a nosy neighbour. If you want to muzzle it for good, you've got to go on a wild goose chase through five different submenus—it's like a treasure hunt without the treasure!
The researchers said Apple's privacy documents are written in such dense legalese that you'd need a law degree and a magnifying glass to make a head or tail of it.
Their survey wasn't exactly a crowd, just 15 Apple users, but it did show a thing or two. Most knew Apple was tracking them more than a bloodhound on the scent, but they were gobsmacked when they found out how much.
One guy even said he'd switch browsers if he were looking up anything dodgy.
And that "Family Sharing" malarkey? It's about as popular as a fart in a lift. Some think it's the bee's knees, but others reckon it's a privacy nightmare.
When fiddling with the settings, they're trying to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded. None of them could check out how to turn off the default apps properly, and when they got stuck, they turned to Dr. Google instead of Apple's so-called help docs.
Another headache is the inconsistency across Apple's gizmos. iPhones and Macs might as well be from different planets, and iCloud has its rulebook, to add to the chaos.
The study's suggestions? Could you make it simple? Jobs Mob should put all the settings in one place and, for Pete's sake, explain what they do without all the jargon – especially given that their target market knows nothing about technology. Otherwise, it would be better to buy a proper PC or Phone made by a company that is not actively trying to avoid the law to make a swift buck.
It'll probably take a lawsuit or two to get the Jobs Mob to sort their act out. They've been dragged to court more times than a dodgy MP, with folks accusing them of playing fast and loose with their privacy promises.