I very seldom use my phone, and so I'm not concerned about this. Some days I even forget to turn it on, and I do turn it off every evening.

I occasionally use Google maps to help direct me through traffic, but again, this is rare.

The main apps I use are the ones to control my pool and my thermostat, and the security light camera, which informs me when someone approaches either of my houses.

If there is any tracking that I need to be concerned about it, it would be from my desk top or laptop computers, and I check cookies regularly and get rid of the ones that I do not want to keep.

I have been Apple faithful since the early 1980's :-)

I know there's a not-insignificant portion of our population who are paranoid and think that some combination of Big Brother, government conspirators, and major corporate wrong doers are snooping, tracking, prying and accumulating all kinds of personal data ABOUT THEM to use to harm them. That's the bad news. The good news is if that's keeping these people hiding deep in the woods, wearing aluminum foil hats for protection, and leading isolated lives in caves, all of that keeps them out of general circulation and away from sane people. You couldn't ask for more.

As for me, anyone who wants to track, tabulate and cross reference my very normal existence, where I go and what I do, is welcome to do so.

Touché, Elmer :-)

We just have a flip phone for calls while traveling, no bells & whistles, don't need em', don't want em'.

Things sure are different in the US! Here in my Aus state, we are required to register with every business, medical clinic, restaurant, supermarket we enter. Most of us have downloaded an app that scans and transmits the business's QR code and the time of entry to the Covid contact tracing system. They've just added our vax status to the app, so businesses that are required to verify that customers have been fully vaxed can do it quickly. Worrying about whether Google knows where we are is small potatoes here.

@jmm1837, sounds like that app is doing exactly what it was designed to do. That’s a good thing.

The data Apple refers to being collected is more than just location data. Central to Apple’s policy is that the user should be aware of who is collecting their data, how it’s being used and they consent to its collection.

"Things sure are different in the US!"

I'm glad to read this comment. Of course things are different, it's a different country with different traditions, different values, different perspectives and differently cultural practices. The setting is different too. I think you've said you live in Victoria - the population of the metro area I live in exceeds the population of all of Victoria and my area is not the major population center of my state, whose population exceeds that of Australia. I'm not suggesting bigger is better, not at all, but the scale of the population (and governing traditions, much more heavy handed and imposing in Australia compared to the US) dictate different possibilities for how issues are addressed.

Much of what has been happening in Australia over the past year plus would not go over very well here. The Aussies I'm in regular contact with are tired of what they consider to be unnecessary and unneeded restrictions, especially as regards international travel. Even European countries, with governmental traditions more similar to Australia's than American ones are, haven't taken such extreme measure.

I'm not suggesting there's a right or wrong, or better or worse, it's just the reality that things are different from one place to another and usually for good reasons.

It sounds like you have to have a cell phone to enter a store in Australia. What about people who do not have cell phones, especially young children?

I think tracking is good. The people who do not like it are probably people who do not like to follow rules and regulations and do not want to get caught.

There can be valid reasons not to trust a government, as governments can become corrupt and politician susceptible to bribes. However, what our cell phone currently track from us here in the U.S. has basically to do with our capitalist economy. The worst that generally happens is that we see more ads that we would like to. Either big government is watching you or big business is watching you.

A lot of people like to get things for free, but advertising is what pays for what otherwise appears to be free.

@jrb - I understand that. My comment was more a reflection on  how mobile phones seem to be more of a practical necessity here - having to sign in manually to everything and carry a vax certificate with you gets old fast.

Lars - they introduced the QR requirement for all business in my state a few months ago. The supermarkets have staff armed with a tablet who take your data if you don't have a phone, and the smaller stores have sign in sheets. Most people though, use the phone app - it's very quick and easy to use.  

It's all a trade off, isn't  it? Personal privacy vs public safety, whether it's tracking systems or vaccination mandates.  At the moment, the pendulum swings to public safety here.

"As for Australia having a more heavy handed system of government I would argue that we simply have a more responsible one."

"The difference between America and Australia is not in governmental traditions but in social values and cohesiveness."

These are your opinions you're welcome to but this is hardly an appropriate place for you to throw your biased, nationalistically fueled insults. I've been to Australia many times. A nice country with nice people but I'd never live there for very many reasons. We all have personal preferences for ourselves that are neither right nor wrong for others.

A Canadian couple with geographical job flexibility I know of, residents of Australia for many years, moved away from Australia last month to a country where they'd have more travel flexibility and personal options. The differences of opinion that exist there over the heavy-handed pandemic provisions and the many nonsensical and awkward predicaments the rules have put many people into contradict your suggestion of cohesiveness.

Elmer - you are in absolutely no position to complain about others expressing  " biased, nationalistically fueled insults."  You regularly denigrate Australia, its systems and values: your previous comment is evidence of that.  Cast the mote out of your own eye.

Only to balance your biased comments. Nothing I've said isn't from factual, first hand experiences that have been shared with me. Your criticisms are perceptions from a great distance, not first hand, and with a biased attitude. Tell me if that isn't the case.

For whatever reason, you seem to resent or dislike the US, perhaps dislike Americans too, and miss no opportunity to be critical. On a forum with a majority of American participants, you might be a bit more considerate.

'I don't believe what you say, but everybody should believe what I say', eh?

And I am not a highly paranoid person, and I don't lose sleep over sharing info online, but one thing that is true about data collection is that when there is a breach - and it seems there's almost always a breach - identity theft becomes much more likely.

FWIW, recently, I experienced something disturbing on FB. A friend's account is being impersonated and they have co-opted her photo and her entire friends list. I got a FB message I thought was from her about applying for a grant, and was almost tricked into providing my personal info like DOB, mother's name, address and photo. Luckily I caught on before that happened, but it shook me because they just happened to land on something that was entirely plausible and fooled me - for awhile.

And also quite disturbing is that when I reported the false profile to FB, they declined to delete it! I contacted my friend about it to let her know. She told me she's been having problems with her account. What's really troubling is that other members of my family are on her friends list too.

Similar to you @carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10, I’m concerned about the security of my data stored by a third party. The article writes ”One broker collects data on 700 million consumers worldwide, creating consumer profiles with up to 5,000 characteristics.” This definitely creates a target rich environment.