How do download everything Apple knows about you
- Apple updated its privacy policy on Tuesday, partially in response to new European privacy regulation.
- As part of the update, Apple debuted a new tool that lets you easily download all of the data the company has about you.
- That tool is only available in a few regions for now.
- Here's how to request your data in the United States.
Apple just updated its privacy policy, and on Wednesday it launched a new website that allows you to correct your personal data or delete your Apple account entirely.
In some regions, such as the European Union, you can download an entire copy of your Apple ID and iCloud data, which will show you everything Apple knows about you.
You can visit Apple's new website at privacy.apple.com.
Here's what you see after you log in from the United States:
But according to 9to5Mac, if you're in the correct region, you can download data from these categories:
This new privacy page is partly in response to new European policy called GDPR that requires internet companies to tell their users what data they're collecting and what they plan to do with it. But Apple has said privacy is a core company emphasis as well.
Unfortunately, for now, if you're in the United States, asking for the data Apple has about you is more complicated. (It's mostly info like the iPhones you've purchased, the music in your iTunes library, and data about data such as when and who you called on FaceTime.)
For those in the US, here's the current process. First, you should head to Apple's Privacy Policy page, which can be found at https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/.
There's a "Privacy Contact Form" somewhere in that wall of text, or you can go directly to apple.com/legal/privacy/contact. Pick your country and language.
Then, fill out the form, including your name, email, and in the details box, write that you're requesting a copy of your personal data.
It should look like this:
Submit that, and wait for a little while. You'll get an email from Apple with a few very specific requests, for security purposes. Here's what I got a few days later:
Once you send in that information, Apple will send your data to you in an email.
Eventually, Americans will get a more streamlined system like the new website, but for now, this is how you do it.