Why do you assume Apple doesn't also track every website and email you read (especially if you use the default Apple-made apps)? After all, they make the OS, they can track whatever they want.

Nobody's reported seeing that sort of network traffic sent off of iOS devices. It's trivially easy to spot it, and it's well documented, going to Google and others across the web, though.

On my iPhone, Safari browser history synchronization to iCloud was enabled by default.

According to Apple, Safari history and bookmarks are end-to-end encrypted and Apple cannot read them:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202303

Is there any evidence that Apple is lying, and is actually decrypting them and using them for advertising purposes, rather than for the "coherence" feature?

I don't actually want browsing sessions to be unified across devices, so I do wish that it was turned off by default. (Though being able to close tabs remotely is a sort of interesting capability.) However, it doesn't seem to be actual spyware used for advertising or tracking purposes.

That’s not what your link says. The link says browsing history is end-to-end encrypted, but Bookmarks are not.

Safari on iOS is auto-completing stuff as you type. The option to search with google comes up if you get far enough.

And it’s not going to google first. If you type an address the “link” at the top is to Apple Maps. They seem to do a similar thing with place names. I’m not sure but one can be fairly certain they’re using the phones location to help….

You will have no idea what is being carried via encrypted channels to Apple's opaque backend servers.

> " It's trivially easy to spot"

Is it? How exactly are encrypted payloads to a secure, opaque and generic endpoint easy to distinguish?

It's trivially easy to spot it going to Google/FB/whoever if you visit a page with a GA or FB or whatever pixel. That's part of the second sentence, not the first.

For spotting it going to Apple you'd have to do more fancy correlation over time and such, but you can find people out there who are researching this stuff... so that's who I'm waiting for to hear more from.

Burden of proof fallacy

People keep saying Google reads your emails (even when Google explicitly says otherwise), but have no proof, and trust Apple's words as the gospel of truth - how strange. It's almost as if it's fashionable to criticize them.

This's on Gmail's homepage:

"We never use your Gmail content for any ads purposes. Gmail uses industry-leading encryption for all messages you receive and send. We never use your Gmail content to personalize ads."

Interesting.. I just saw an add in my Apple Maps yesterday and I was really confused at first. Had no idea they are considering moving in this direction and must already be testing it.

On a different note I attended an apple event for IT Government and Education in Chicago. Eye opening.. Apple's "privacy" stance is all just a horse and pony show for marketing. Unbelievable how open they were about tracking everything at the event.