Apple Legal notice & Privacy policy
Protecting your privacy is important to Apple. This privacy policy applies to how we collect, use, disclose, transfer, and store your data. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with our practices regarding the protection of personal data and contact us if you have any questions.
Collection and use of personal data
Personal data (or “personal information”) is data that can be used to uniquely identify or contact a single individual.
You may be asked to provide your personal data at any time when you are in contact with Apple or an Apple affiliate. Apple and its affiliates may share personal information and use it in accordance with the present Privacy commitment. They may also combine it with other information in order to provide and improve their products, services, contents and advertising.
Here are some examples of the types of personal information Apple may collect and how we may use it.
What personal data do we collect?
When you create an Apple ID, register your products, apply for trade credit, purchase a product, download a software update, register for training at an Apple Retail Store, or participate in an online survey, we may collect a variety of information, including your name, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, contact preferences, and payment card information.
When you share your content with family and friends using Apple products, send gift vouchers and products, or invite others to join you on Apple forums, Apple may collect the information you provide about these individuals (e.g., name, mailing address, e-mail address and phone number).
In the United States, we may ask you for your Social Security Number (SSN), but only in certain cases, for example, when opening a mobile account and activating your iPhone, or when deciding whether or not to extend commercial credit.
How do we use your personal data?
The personal data we collect enables us to keep you up to date with the latest product announcements, software updates and upcoming Apple events. They also enable us to improve our services, content and advertising. If you do not wish to be on our mailing list, you can opt-out at any time by updating your preferences.
We also use your personal data to help us develop, deliver and improve our products, services, content and advertising.We may periodically use your personal data to send important notifications, such as communications about purchases and changes to our terms and charters. As this information is important for your relationship with Apple, you cannot object to receiving these communications.
We may also use personal data for internal purposes, such as audits, data analysis and research to improve Apple’s products, services and customer communications.
If you participate in a lottery, contest or similar promotional event, we may use the information you provide to administer these programs.
Collection and use of non-personal data We also collect non-personal data (data whose form does not allow us to make a direct link with a specific person). We may collect, use, transfer and disclose non-personal data for any purpose. The following are examples of the non-personal data we collect and how we may use it:
We may collect information such as occupation, language, postal code, area code, unique device identifier, location and time zone in which an Apple product is used to enable us to better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services and advertising.
We may also collect information about customer activities through our website, iCloud and MobileMe services, the iTunes Store and from our other products and services. This data is collected and used to help us provide more useful information to our customers and to understand which parts of our site, products and services are most popular. The data collected is considered to be non-personal data for the purposes of this confidentiality undertaking.
If we combine non-personal data with personal data, the combined data will be treated as personal data for as long as it is combined.
Cookies and other technologies
Apple’s website, online services, interactive applications, e-mail messages and advertisements may use “cookies” and other technologies, such as web beacons or “pixel tags”. These technologies enable us to better understand user behavior, tell us which parts of our site are most visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of Internet advertising and searches. We treat the data collected by cookies and other technologies as non-personal data. However, to the extent that IP (Internet Protocol) addresses or similar identifiers are considered personal data by local law, we will also treat these identifiers as personal data. Similarly, to the extent that non-personal data is associated with personal data, we will treat such associated information as personal data for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.
Apple and its partners use cookies and other technologies in mobile advertising services to track the number of times you view a given ad, to deliver ads that are relevant to your interests, and to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. If you do not wish to receive advertisements at this level of relevance on your cell phone, you can “opt out” by clicking on the following link on your device: http://oo.apple.com. . If you object, you’ll continue to receive the same number of ads on your cell phone, but they may be less relevant because they’re not linked to your centers of interest. You may still see ads related to the content of a web page or application, or based on other non-personal information. This opt-out applies only to Apple’s advertising services and does not affect interest-based advertising from other advertising networks.
Apple and its partners also use cookies and other technologies to remember your personal information when you use our site, online services and applications. In this case, our aim is to make your visit more convenient and to personalize it. For example, knowing your first name will enable us to welcome you the next time you visit the Apple Online Store. Knowing your country and language – and if you’re a teacher, the name of your school – enables us to offer you a more effective personalized tour. Knowing that someone using your computer or device has purchased a certain product or used a particular service helps us make our advertising and electronic communications more relevant to your interests. Finally, knowing your contact details, product serial numbers and information about your computer or device helps us register your products, customize your operating system, configure your iCloud service and provide you with better customer service.
If you’re using the Safari web browser and wish to disable cookies, go to Safari preferences, then to the Privacy panel, where there’s an option to do so. On your Apple mobile device, go to Settings, then Safari, then the Cookies section. For other browsers, please consult your provider to find out how to disable cookies. Please note that some features of the Apple website will no longer be available once cookies have been disabled.
Like many websites, we collect certain information automatically and store it in log files. This data includes IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, browser type and language, Internet Service Provider (ISP), referring and exit pages, operating system, date/time and data relating to your visit to the site.
We use this data to understand and analyze trends, administer the site, track user behavior on the site and gather demographic information about our users as a whole. Apple may use this information for marketing and advertising purposes.
In some of our e-mail messages, we use a “click URL” linked to content on the Apple website. When customers click on one of these URLs, they are transferred to another web server before arriving on the destination page of our site. We track these clicks to help us determine interest in certain topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be followed in this way, you should not click on text or graphic links present in e-mail messages.
Pixel tags allow us to send e-mail messages in a format that customers can read, and to track whether the message has been opened. We may use this information to reduce or delete messages sent to customers.
Disclosure to third parties
Apple may from time to time make certain personal data available to strategic partners who work with Apple to provide products and services or help Apple market its products to customers. For example, when you purchase and activate your iPhone, you authorize Apple and its supplier to exchange the information you disclose during the activation procedure in order to perform the service. Once the service has been activated, your account will be governed by the respective confidentiality commitments of Apple and its service provider. Personal data will only be shared by Apple to provide or improve its products, services and advertising; it will not be shared with third parties for marketing purposes.
Service providers
Apple shares personal data with companies that provide services such as processing information, extending credit, fulfilling customer orders, delivering products, managing and developing customer data, providing customer service, evaluating your interest in our products and services, and conducting customer satisfaction or development surveys. These companies are obliged to protect your data and may be located in any country in which Apple does business.
Other provisions
Apple may be required – by law, in connection with legal proceedings, litigation and/or a request from the public authorities in your country of residence or otherwise – to disclose your personal data. We may also disclose your data if we believe that disclosure is necessary or appropriate for national security, law enforcement or other matters of public interest.
We may also disclose information about you if we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce compliance with our terms and conditions or to protect our business or our users. In addition, in the event of restructuring, merger or sale, we may transfer any personal information we collect to the relevant third party.
Protection of personal data
Apple takes precautions – including administrative, technical and physical measures – to protect your personal data against loss, theft and misuse, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.
Apple’s online services, such as the Apple Online Store and iTunes Store, use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption on all web pages where personal data is collected. To make purchases from these services, you must use an SSL browser, such as Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer. This will ensure the confidentiality of your personal data during transmission over the Internet.
When you use certain Apple products, services or applications or participate in an Apple forum, chat or social networking service, the personal data you share is visible to other users who may read, collect and use it. You are responsible for the personal data you choose to submit in these circumstances. For example, if you post your name and e-mail address on a forum, this information will be public. You need to be careful when using these features.
Integrity and storage of personal data
Apple makes it easy to keep your personal data accurate, up-to-date and intact. We will retain your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
Access to personal data
You can ensure that your contact details and preferences are accurate, complete and up-to-date by logging into your account at www.apple.com/contact/myinfo. With respect to other personal data, we make a good faith effort to provide you with access to request that we correct data if it is inaccurate or delete it if Apple is not required to retain it by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may refuse to process requests that are excessively repetitive, require disproportionate technical effort, jeopardize the confidentiality of third-party data, are extremely difficult to implement or for which access is not otherwise required by applicable law. Requests for access, correction or deletion can be sent to the Privacy e-mail addresses.
Children
We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under the age of 13, we will take steps to delete that information as soon as possible.
Geolocation services
To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and its partners and licensees may collect, use and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your computer or Apple device. This location data is collected anonymously in a non-identifiable format and is used by Apple and its partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers if you accept their location services.
Some of Apple’s geolocation services, such as the “Locate my iPhone” feature, require your personal data to operate.
Third-party sites and services
Apple websites, products, applications and services may contain links to third-party websites, products and services. Our products and services may also use or offer third-party products or services – for example, a third-party iPhone application. Information collected by third parties, which may include items such as location data or contact details, is governed by their privacy charters. We invite you to read the confidentiality charters of these third parties.
International users
The information you disclose may be transferred to or accessed by companies around the world, as described in this Privacy Policy. Apple complies with the Safe Harbor principles set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information collected by companies in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Find out more about the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Safe Harbor program here.
Please note that personal information concerning individuals residing in a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) is controlled by Apple Distribution International, Cork (Ireland), and processed on its behalf by Apple Inc. Personal information collected within the EEA when using iTunes is controlled by iTunes SARL, in Luxembourg, and processed on its behalf by Apple Inc.
Protecting your privacy: a company-wide commitment
To protect the security of your personal information, we communicate these confidentiality and security rules to each of our employees and apply a very strict policy in this area within our company.
Questions about confidentiality
If you have any questions or concerns about the processing of your data or Apple’s Privacy Policy, please contact us.
Apple may update its Privacy Policy from time to time. In the event of substantial modification, a notice will be posted on our website, together with the updated privacy policy.
Apple Inc, 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, USA 95014