Thursday, March 28, 2024

Apple Using a ‘Device Trust Score’ to Identify and Prevent Fraud on iTunes and App Stores

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With the release of iOS 12, tvOS 12, and watchOS 5 yesterday, Apple made some quiet changes to its iTunes and App Store privacy policy on iOS devices and the Apple TV, as pointed out by VentureBeat.

Newly updated language in the iTunes and App Store privacy policy states that Apple is using a device trust score to help identify and cut down on fraud.

Apple says that information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you receive is used to compute the device trust score when you make a purchase.

To help identify and prevent fraud, information about how you use your device, including the approximate number of phone calls or emails you send and receive, will be used to compute a device trust score when you attempt a purchase. The submissions are designed so Apple cannot learn the real values on your device. The scores are stored for a fixed time on our servers.

This warning shows up on both iOS devices and the Apple TV, which can’t send emails or make phone calls, so it appears to be blanket wording Apple is using for all of its iTunes and App Store privacy updates.

As VentureBeat points out, it’s not entirely clear how tracking the number of phone calls and emails a person makes offers up better verification for device identity than unique device identifiers, but it’s possible this method can cut down on spam App Store accounts, fake reviews, and other such activities.

Apple’s iTunes Store & Privacy documentation was updated yesterday, and prior to then, it did not include the bit about creating a trust score.

There are few other changes that have been made to the document, and the new section joins a pre-existing policy where Apple says that it collects device information, location information, download and purchase history and other interactions with its stores to prevent fraud.
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