Apple Gives Users Way To Download, Correct Data Company Has Collected On Them

Data privacy has been a major talking point in the tech world throughout 2018, and Apple (AAPL) just gave users in the United States and other countries more control over what data they give to the tech giant. On Wednesday, the iPhone maker rolled out a new privacy tool that allows anyone with an Apple ID to download a copy of their personal data, as well as make changes to it.

The tool, available on Apple’s privacy website, is relatively simple to access. Go to that page, enter a valid Apple ID and password and go to the page marked “Get a copy of your data.” From there, the site allows users to download any data Apple has on hand about them, whether it is from the iTunes Store, Maps or Game Center. Users can choose to get data just from individual apps or get all of it in one go.

After that, the site prompts users to set a maximum download size limit, in case they have bandwidth concerns. Once everything is all set, Apple will verify the user’s credentials and send over the data within seven days.

This tool was previously released in Europe, in accordance with the European Union’s newly enforced General Data Protection Regulation, per Reuters. Wednesday’s rollout brought data downloading to the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Not only can users download their data, they can also correct any mistakes in it as well as permanently delete their accounts.

Apple has tried to position itself as a sort of anti-Facebook when it comes to data privacy in 2018. In the immediate aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica fiasco earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook took a shot at Facebook’s massive data collection practices, which primarily facilitate the company’s large advertising business.

Then, in early October, Cook made another statement that sounded like a not-so-subtle jab at other companies that have come under the spotlight for data misuse. He referred to the notion that customers giving away their personal information for the sake of product convenience as “a bunch of bunk.”

Facebook is in the midst of dealing with a data breach that affected nearly 30 million users. Google, meanwhile, has been criticized for possibly tracking users’ locations without their permission. Executives from both firms, as well as Apple, recently endorsed the idea of federal data protection regulation in the U.S.