Apple iTunes To Assign Your Device Trust Score From Calls and Emails

Along the recent Apple September releases of iOS12, tvOS and watchOS 5 their was also a standout change in the Apple terms and conditions.

Despite my failure to update my iPhone 6 and iPad 5th generation to iOS 12 due to constant “update error” i however had an opportunity to look down the Apple updated terms.

Firstly alerted by Venture Beat here is the interesting peace of the update

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.

So it is true Apple is assigning a device trust score based from data on your calls and emails from the Apple device. And Apple’s plan is to use an “abstracted” summaries of calls and emails to generate the device trust score.

In Apple’s view this is an effort to introduce more security to its product line and help its customers against fraud.

Myself was recently breached when i clicked on a vicious link that had been sent to my email. Unknowingly the phishing scam had arrived in my email box immediately i had a failure with Apple Music subscription.

I was easily enticed and did the damage to myself looking at the busy schedule for that day. Device trust score is designed to help in the iTunes store scams trying to reap off both users and Apple. 

Will Apple Keep Our Calls and Email Records

The numeric score, Apple says, will be kept only for a limited period and it will be the only data remaining after the bot goes through the calls and emails. Apple will use “standard privacy abstracting techniques,” to arrive at that device trust score

The abstracted data, from calls and emails, will not be shared with Apple as it will not leave the device and will not be stored anywhere in the cloud nor Apple servers.

The Apple device trust score has however raised concern about the technique to be used combating anti fraud. Others have gone to share that the service may create the kind of paranoia seen in Black Mirror episode