You Can Stop Apple From Collecting Your MacBook’s Most Sensitive Data
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/feb-27th-2024-Woman-opening-closing-2433383737
Your Mac collects a lot of usage data to improve macOS and Apple’s own apps. A lot of this data is collected by default, and it’s good to know about it. Apple is pretty good at declaring how and why it collects data, and the information is almost always easy to find and understand. The company also encrypts much of the data it collects, meaning Apple can’t read it. That being said, I believe that all types of data collection should be enabled, not enabled by default. Here’s how to review your Mac’s data collection settings and use third-party tools to stop your computer from calling home any more than necessary.
And since we’re on the topic of privacy, also consider opting out of tracking by data brokers and stopping Apple from collecting data on your iPhone .
Use a third party firewall
Although Apple offers its own firewall, it is not useful if you want to control Apple’s own data collection. Third-party firewalls work quite well on macOS , which is much less restrictive than iOS. You can use apps like Little Snitch ($63), Radio Silence ($9), or even the free LuLu to monitor the apps and services that are calling home. With a good firewall, you can block outgoing connections (even Apple’s own) and reduce snooping.
Sometimes it’s important to let your Mac call home because that’s how you get automatic software updates, but in many cases it’s not necessary at all. You can use a firewall application to monitor all these connections and block the unnecessary ones.
Disable Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence has some useful features, but I find they slow down my M1 MacBook Air a bit, and since it also requires sending data to Apple servers, I prefer to turn them off. Yes, Apple Intelligence encrypts data , but it still doesn’t perform all actions on the device. If you’re not comfortable using Apple’s cloud services for AI features on your Mac, you can turn off Apple Intelligence by clicking the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen and choosing System Preferences > Apple Intelligence and Siri .
Reduce Siri data collection
As the Siri spying agreement confirms, you should be wary of Apple collecting data using its voice assistant. Apple is now completely transparent about how your data is processed for Siri, and you can go to System Preferences > Apple Intelligence & Siri to check what the company says for itself. Click the About Siri, Dictation and Privacy button and you’ll see that Apple stores and processes your Siri transcripts. This is another form of data collection that can be avoided by turning off Siri and dictation. On the Siri settings page on Mac, click Delete Siri and Dictation History , and then click Delete to delete your saved data. Then turn off Siri . Finally, go to System Settings > Keyboard and turn off Dictation to complete the process.
Disable Apple Analytics
When you use your Mac, Apple collects quite a bit of data to track app crashes, macOS errors, and usage to decide what new features to work on next. This data is usually anonymized before being shared with Apple or third-party developers, but you can still review it and decide whether you want to share it at all. Simply go to System Preferences > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Enhancements on your Mac and review all the options. I have disabled everything on this page.
Check Apple Location Access
Typically, I deny location access to almost every app on my Mac. Despite this, I was surprised to see that the computer’s system apps had location access enabled. You can check which of your apps have location access by going to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and clicking the More details button next to System Services . Review the entire list and disable location access for services that don’t need it. You should leave it enabled for core services like Find My , but you can turn off location access for Mac Analytics and a few others.
You can also click the Learn More button next to Primary Locations to view the location information Apple has collected during your frequent video calls, and if you want to delete it and revoke access to data collection in the future. Please note that this information is encrypted and cannot be read by Apple. The company says it uses this information to display useful information in photos, maps, calendar and other system apps.
Reduce personalized advertising
Over the past few years, Apple has been quite active in promoting its own advertising. On a Mac the situation is much less dire than on your iPhone , but the Mac App Store ads are still annoying. You can’t block them completely, but you can go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Ads and turn off personalized ads .
Alternatives to iCloud on Mac
To complete our review of Apple’s data collection on Mac, you’ll also have to take a closer look at iCloud. iOS is quite strict that no service can compare to iCloud for syncing and backing up your data. However, macOS is much more convenient and you don’t need to use iCloud as often as you do on iOS. Some system apps like Apple Notes, Messages, Calendar, and Reminders use iCloud for syncing, but if not, you might want to look for alternative services to back up your Mac .
Please note that by default, using cloud storage services provides you with the ability to collect data. You just need to decide whether you want Apple to collect your data or choose another company. Some people prefer to store their data in different services, while others don’t mind keeping it all in one place. The good news is that you can use dedicated online backup services like Backblaze ($99 per year) on a Mac, which is not possible on an iPhone. You can also easily create offline backups using Time Machine or third-party apps like Carbon Copy Cloner ($40). This means you can easily reduce your dependence on iCloud on Mac.