Friday, February 17, 2012

Weekly Task IV: Privacy Policies of Web Site

A privacy policies of the web site state how you will respect the privacy of your website users. It says what information you will gather, how you will use it and how you will keep it secure.


Report the companies/services you selected as your examples

Our group decided to choose Facebook and Apple. Facebook is the most populated, one of the most popular web sites in the world, while the Apple is the most successful corporation in the world. Both companies are very interesting in the privacy policies case and they both have influenced the world a lot.

What kind of information privacy policies they typically have?
– Facebook
The user is allowed to decide which information about him he would like to be confidential and be hidden from others. Some applications may use additional information, like location, ip-address/web browser version, but they usually ask for user's permission in order to do this. Moreover, web sites with implemented facebook social plugin (comments, etc.) also collect the same information about users. The collected data may be used in various services, like suggestions, advertisements and offers. In order to protect children from some adults, restrictions are used. Also, name, various user's networks and profile picture are always publicity available.

– Apple
Each user has to create an account in order to use most of the Apple's services on the devices. This account is called 'Apple ID'. It is used to authorize your computers, gadgets like iPhone/iPod, allow changes on Macs, purchase applications in AppStores (both on OS X and in iTunes), iCloud and Find My iPhone service and for lots of other purposes.
To create an account each user has to input such personal information, as name, location, phone numbers, e-mail (which will become the Apple ID login), credit card/Pay Pal account information. This information is secured, however, lots of accidents with hacking Apple ID's have appeared recently and the most annoying thing for users about this is that, unfortunately, Apple pays no attention to this problem.
Some additional data may be collected from Apple's devices as well, like location and statistics of usage.

Do you find some differences between the policies of the two companies you selected?

– Facebook
   Once a platform for college peers to connect, has recently become a global enterprise selling user information to third parties. Facebook scans user profile information and shares it with third parties and advertisers to deliever a 'personalized' advertisements on the user's homepage. In order to use any facebook application, the user must agree to the terms of use, which include access to their personal information.

– Apple
   Apple, the once small, start-up tech company is a distant memory to the global conglomerate that Apple now is. Much like Facebook and Google, it is also all too willing to share private user data to the highest bidder. Apple has used the data it has collected from iPhone, iPad and iTunes users and sold it to "partners and licensees". Users must agree to this or they can not download from the iTunes store.

So, privacy policies of these companies are pretty much the same, but there exists one difference. These companies have in their privacy policies one division “Collection and Use of Personal Information” and here it is. Apple collects information using iPads, iPods and iPhones. As users of iPad and iPhone, we perfectly know that before first start of Apple devices we need to register in Apple Store and insert our info. Facebook has another way to collect user’s info – this is done just during the registration process.
The type of information is the same, but the methods to collect are different.

Do you think that the selected policies are clear to the users?

– Apple
   In our opinion, the Apple has very nice and clear Privacy Policies. For us and others, reading very long policies is very hard, because we are lazy and doesn't want to waste our time on it. Policies of this company's web site are also not very long, so, that is also the main thing.In additition, we would like to mention that Apple uses very interesting "trick". In additition, we would like to mention that Apple uses very interesting "trick". They are using words to made users to read their rules. We think it is important that user have become familar with privacy policies of company and will save money of Apple in this case.

– Facebook
   Facebook's privacy policies on the way of its growth as an Internet social networking site has met a lot of criticism from the users. This famous social network has also been sued several times. Facebook privacy policies has changed in recent years. Soon, it transformed into a network where the greater part of your information is public by default. Today, according to the latest changes in its privacy policies, facebook give no choice but to make certain information public, and this information may be shared by Facebook with its partner websites and used to target ads. So, our verdict is that Facebook has very long, hard to read privacy policies and it is done designedly in order that users not read them because they are not fair.

No comments:

Post a Comment