Re: Ignoring requests for Apple ID

Your Name wrote on Sat, 29 Jun 2024 16:11:51 +1200 :

On 2024-06-29 01:29:59 +0000, <bp@www.zefox.net> said:

 
For some time the iPhone6 I carry for emergencies has asked
for my apple ID. I always touch "not now" and go about my
business. So far, there hasn't been any repercussion and
the phone works when I need it.
 
Why is the phone asking, and will something bad happen, like the
phone not working, if I keep hitting "not now"?
 
Thanks for reading,
 
bob prohaska

 
Shouldn't be any problem, but there are many reasons why it might be
asking for it, so you may want to look into why it keeps asking. Apple
ID is required for things like iCloud features, updating of apps of
iOS, recent changes to your Touch ID or Face ID, etc., etc.

When you buy an Apple product - you buy into the dumb-terminal ecosystem.

Worse, you buy into Apple storing huge amounts of your metadata on the net!
 *I asked Apple for all my data. Here's what was sent back*
 <https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-data-collection-stored-request/>

These files "contain metadata, like when and who I messaged or called on
FaceTime" which is a privacy flaw inherent in the dumb-terminal model.

For example, Apple unilaterally inserts, into every IPA you install, a
*unique* code specific only to you so that Apple can track app activity.

For example, Apple keeps a copy of every app and song you have ever
downloaded and every tune you've ever added to your iTunes music library.

Most users are completely unaware there is no common consumer operating
system other than Apple's which require you to constantly log into their
mothership servers for the basic functionality you know & love about iOS.

And Apple never advertises the huge amount of data it stores about you.
�*Apple took 8 days to give me the data it had collected on me. It was eye opening*
�<https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/05/04/asked-apple-everything-had-me-heres-what-got/558362002/>

Apple uses some of this immense data to"sell targeted ads based on our
interests in the News and App Store apps" (see that in the references cited
since most of the Apple religious zealots hate all truths about Apple).

1. The walled garden does not work if you don't log into Apple servers.
2. There are *many* Apple servers you need to log into for it to work.
3. There's the iCloud & the Apple AppStore, Messages, Facetime, etc.

On two separate iPads, I have refused to log into those accounts, and what
happens, naturally, is you are eventually unable to use the walled garden.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/LXzB3Lc0/appleid01.jpg> Apple _forces_ a log in!
 <https://i.postimg.cc/ZR5mZ287/appleid07.jpg> Apple fails App Store test
 <https://i.postimg.cc/TwN6P0QR/appleid08.jpg> Only Apple requires a login
 <https://i.postimg.cc/8k3GQyj4/appleid09.jpg> Apple tracks your activity
 <https://i.postimg.cc/hhFNJ5mq/appleid010.jpg> Apps become non functional
 <https://i.postimg.cc/nrFHSvby/appleid11.jpg> Apple _forces_ extra logins!
 <https://i.postimg.cc/Y9kkj19v/appleid12.jpg> Apple tracking server login

But you can use "some" of the features of the walled garden; just not all.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/9XtgRz0y/mothership01.jpg> Apple forces verification
 <https://i.postimg.cc/q73jkvWh/mothership02.jpg> into mothership trackers
 <https://i.postimg.cc/7hmNBGJc/mothership03.jpg> Safari & Chrome work fine
 <https://i.postimg.cc/GhmK4QZ1/mothership04.jpg> So does Youtube work fine
 <https://i.postimg.cc/vBv7BghB/mothership05.jpg> No problem with web pages
 <https://i.postimg.cc/xjtyVmqp/mothership06.jpg> The walled garden fails
 <https://i.postimg.cc/ht79m3sN/mothership07.jpg> iMessage garden fails
 <https://i.postimg.cc/5tBL7YZ3/mothership08.jpg> FaceTime garden fails
 <https://i.postimg.cc/Y09FCXjn/mothership09.jpg> App Store finds 1Blocker
 <https://i.postimg.cc/tC869Nbk/mothership10.jpg> App Store installs apps
 <https://i.postimg.cc/FKVkgtLC/mothership11.jpg> But it won't do iCloud

Which means, Apple designed iOS as a "dumb terminal" which gets much of its
beloved functionality only by logging into Apple's mainframe servers for
most of the beloved walled-garden functionality - without which - the iOS
device reverts to a dumb terminal that can't do what you love about iOS.

Paradoxically, while all the beloved walled-garden functionality eventually
disappears after about two years (tested on two different iPads) of
refusing to log into the walled-garden Apple servers, the one functionality
that remained was the capability of updating your operating system version.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/hvhgB91S/update01.jpg> iPadOS 16.3.1 is available
 <https://i.postimg.cc/Qtfsw654/update02.jpg> 16.3.1 Update Requested
 <https://i.postimg.cc/vmLGL8md/update03.jpg> About 10 minutes remaining
 <https://i.postimg.cc/d11gkJk6/update04.jpg> Preparing Update
 <https://i.postimg.cc/rw1B7n21/update05.jpg> Downloaded
 <https://i.postimg.cc/yN7MKm7w/update06.jpg> Finish Setting Up iPad
 <https://i.postimg.cc/13DSsRwN/update07.jpg> More for your iPad
 <https://i.postimg.cc/Xv80B22j/update08.jpg> Update Apple ID Settings
 <https://i.postimg.cc/TYLGNJP0/update09.jpg> iPadOS Version 16.3.1
 <https://i.postimg.cc/L509Yy8Y/update10.jpg> Sign in to iCloud
 <https://i.postimg.cc/zvfDfm8Y/update11.jpg> Finished Setting up iPad
 <https://i.postimg.cc/Z5Nbnxtn/update12.jpg> Verifying update...

In summary, of all common consumer operating systems (including Windows
11), only the Apple operating systems are designed essentially as dumb
terminals which don't do what you love about them without logging into the
mainframe servers, of which you are logged into them 24/7/365 while
enjoying Apple products.

Clearly Apple never advertises that most of the genius of the walled garden
is simply that the user is making use of these Internet services, all of
which are tracked in detail and every one of which contains privacy
metadata which can be detrimental to your privacy & which is saved by
Apple.

When you buy an Apple product - you buy into the dumb-terminal ecosystem.

Here's a snippet of the information Apple maintains due to the inherently
flawed nature (from a privacy standpoint) of the dumb-terminal iOS model.

AccountDetails.xlsx contains basic information about the account holder,
including name, address, phone number, and Apple ID information. It also
includes when an account was created and IP address of the Apple server
used to open the account.

iCloudLogs.xlsx keeps a note on every time one of your devices downloads
data from iCloud, including your photo library, contacts, and Safari
browsing history -- but doesn't contain the actual data.

MailLogs.xlsx also keeps a record of each time something from your Apple
device interacts with your iCloud email account, but no email content is
stored here.

Two more files relate to Apple's flagship end-to-end encrypted messaging
apps, FaceTime and iMessage. Because even Apple can't access the content of
encrypted video calls and text messages, Apple can't turn over the data,
but it can provide information on all the calls and messages that are
routed through its servers.

In both the FaceTime and IDS (iMessage) logs, notes read that the logs only
indicate if there was an attempt to place a FaceTime call or to send an
iMessage, because both requests are sent through Apple's servers. But
neither log whether the call was made or message was sent, let alone if it
was successful.

In a separate folder, another batch of Excel documents contained
information mostly pertaining to with my interactions with Apple, like
downloads and support requests.

AOS Orders contains an entire history of devices and accessories I've
bought from Apple dating back to my first purchase. It also includes the
five separate occasions I bought new earphones roughly once per year
because my cat had chewed through them.

CRM Installed Product is a list of every Apple device ever bought,
including highly detailed information -- like serial numbers, a note on if
a device is unlocked, unique networking MAC addresses for Bluetooth,
Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections, and any other identifying information on a
device.

Read also: What would Steve Jobs think of today's Apple?

CRM AppleCare Case Contact contains basic contact information on the
account holder, such as name, address, and phone number -- and if the user
opts into marketing emails and phone calls.

CRM AppleCare Case Header included every interaction I've had with customer
support. Every time you call, a company representatives make notes about
the customer's problem, and also describes the next steps or the outcome of
the call.

CRM Warranty includes all the information on a device owner's warranty,
what AppleCare coverage they have -- if any, and when warranties expire.

DS Signons is a long list of every time you logged in to iTunes and from
which specific device, and contains peripheral information like if the
login failed.

Game Center predictably contains information on all the gaming sessions a
user has played or interacted with -- which in my case, as you'd expect, is
limited to almost zero.

iForgot keeps a log of every time you visited your Apple ID page on the
web, or reset your password.

iTunes Match Uploads retains a record of every song you've ever uploaded to
iTunes Match service, which matches your music with higher quality and
downloads that copy instead. The list also includes your user agent
information, which can identify your device.

iTunes Match Downloads similarly keeps a list of all matched music that's
later downloaded from iTunes Match.

iTunes Downloads contains a user's entire download history since the
account's creation -- from apps, songs, albums, videos, and movies -- from
the iTunes Store. It also includes information on which device the item was
downloaded and its IP address.

Repair Transaction Details recounts every time you put in a repair request
with Apple, and includes information on what the issue is, any notes made
by Apple staff, and any information that identifies the device, such as a
phone's IMEI number.

Marketing Contact includes the information that Apple uses to contact you
for marketing reasons, and the reason why -- such as if the user has a
developer account.

In summary, the advantage of Apple's dumb-terminal design of iOS is most of
the magic you love about the walled garden is handled by Internet servers
(which is why all that is reproduced in Android, only with the addition of
all platform compatibility - not just Apple platforms - if you're willing
to log into an Internet server to perform those walled-garden tasks).

The disadvantage of every app you use being tracked by Apple and every
action being tracked by your Internet login into the mainframe servers,
is Apple tracks a hellova lot of meta data about you that impacts privacy.