Apple AIs Privacy Issues

Apple unveiled a slew of AI features at WWDC24 , promising powerful tools for iPhones, iPads, and Macs. But can Apple really guarantee privacy in an AI world? Apple’s on-device and private cloud solutions are impressive, but the integration of ChatGPT creates a potential vulnerability.

How Apple Plans to Turn Its AI into a Privacy Tool

Apple unveiled a number of AI features at WWDC24 that will be available on all supported Macs, iPhones, and iPads by the end of 2024. But AI and privacy don’t usually go hand in hand, and Apple has made bold but sensible privacy commitments.

On-device processing

Typically, AI operations require significant processing power, a resource that most standard phones and laptops lack. However, with the advent of Apple silicon, all Macs, iPhones, and iPads equipped with M-series or A17 Pro (and later) chips will be able to locally execute most generative AI models , including Apple’s language models.

Apple has been developing its proprietary Apple Neural Engine (ANE) to handle Machine Learning and AI for some time now. Over the years, it has become more efficient at handling AI requests without having to hand them over entirely to the CPU or GPU. Most of Apple’s AI models will actually run offline and remain private.

Private Cloud Compute (PCC)

However, your Apple device may not be able to handle some AI requests locally. While Apple stated this during WWDC24, it did not specify or provide examples of what requests would be too much for the local offline processor. The examples are speculative, but Apple says that “complex requests” could crash your device.

Apple’s solution is Private Cloud Computing (PCC), a cloud-based AI processor built with Apple’s custom silicon. It emphasizes privacy and transparency and comes with its own Secure Enclave, similar to Apple’s device protection solution. When using PCC, AI requests are immediately deleted after processing, and no one, including Apple, can access the data through a backdoor. To further build trust, Apple offers verifiable transparency, allowing third-party security researchers to audit software running on PCC nodes.

ChatGPT poses major privacy risks

On-device processing and PCC are both great privacy measures, but there’s still one aspect of Apple Intelligence that’s questionable: ChatGPT . For those who don’t know, Apple plans to integrate ChatGPT into its AI experiences, including Siri. These AI applications will tap into ChatGPT’s broader knowledge base and borrow its image processing capabilities.

To be fair, Apple has taken some steps to ensure user privacy when using ChatGPT. For example, when you send a request to OpenAI, the device obfuscates your IP address and no records are created about you. Additionally, all ChatGPT requests require your permission in advance, and you have to grant it each time.

Note : Despite Elon Musk's claims, OpenAI cannot access all the data on a user's device; ChatGPT can only process the information presented in its prompt.

However, ChatGPT’s most powerful features require a subscription, and you’ll need to connect to your paid account to enjoy them. Doing so, however, will subject you to OpenAI’s privacy policy. OpenAI’s privacy policy allows it to collect personal information, log your usage, train models on personal information, share your data with third parties, and many other related implications.

While there are ways to opt out of some of ChatGPT’s privacy violations, most of the solutions are roundabout and OpenAI can easily avoid them. It seems that avoiding ChatGPT on Apple’s AI (especially on macOS) will be difficult, if not impossible. Depending on how you use Siri or Compose, you may find yourself relying heavily on ChatGPT, leaving much of your personal data in OpenAI’s hands.