Search queries and location collected by default

Oct 21, 2014 12:03 GMT  ·  By

The system-wide search function in OS X Yosemite (10.10) does a bit more than allowing Internet queries for the user, as it also sends information back to Apple with the default configuration.

The data delivered to the company’s servers includes not just the search queries and Spotlight Suggestions but also the location of the computer, if the service is enabled.

This is done by default, which spurred critical reactions online regarding the privacy of the Mac user; disabling data transmission is described in Spotlight’s “About” section, where the entire process and its purpose is also revealed.

In some locations around the globe, the web search functionality may not work and there is no apparent solution for the glitch, although in some cases matching the language with the region appeared to do the job.

Data is sent anonymously and retained temporarily

Collection of both search queries and system location can be turned off, but in the case of the latter, Apple says that “to deliver relevant search suggestions, Apple may use the IP address of your Internet connection to approximate your location by matching it to a geographic region.”

In a statement to iMore, the company explains that the information gathered from the users is limited and that Spotlight does not use a persistent identifier, which means that location and identity details are discarded after a period of time.

How long until this happens? 15 minutes, according to Apple, and an anonymous session ID is used in the process. Basically, the exact location is not delivered to the company’s servers and IP addresses are not retained.

This kind of behavior is not uncommon, as both Google and Microsoft collect information from users anonymously, in order to improve their services.

There is a way to ensure complete privacy

However, according to Landon Fuller, CEO at Plausible Labs in New York, “Spotlight isn't the only Mac OS X Yosemite feature that unnecessarily phones home; a myriad of system and user processes are sending data to Apple in a default configuration.”

For the purpose of fixing these issues, he adapted a Python script that disables the parts of the operating system invading the privacy of the user.

The script is called Fix Mac OS X and is derived from “fix Ubuntu,” which solves a similar issue on the Linux distribution.

“Mac OS X has always respected user privacy by default, and Mac OS X Yosemite should too,” Fuller wrote on the page describing the purpose of the tool.