What the experts think >
For the most part, expert reaction to Sign In with Apple has been positive. For example, Dana Simberkoff, chief risk, privacy and information security officer at AvePoint, told Engadget: “If it’s done right, not only [is it] a win for Apple but also a win for consumers,” while Ray Walsh, data privacy expert at ProPrivacy.com, said it was “a step in the right direction for consumers”.
Meanwhile, Matthew Hudnall, an associate professor of management information systems at the University of Alabama, said: “Apple has complete control over the hardware and software verification processes. This certainly better positions Apple to implement a system that better ensures user privacy.”
But many experts have expressed reservations, with Simberkoff pointing out that centralising your logins with Apple means “if Apple were to have a failure it would create a significant impact”. Walsh, meanwhile, said the best way to protect your privacy is to log in to each service and website separately using a different email address and password, rather than keeping everything together with Apple.
Most of the experts agreed, however, that Apple’s business model puts it in a strong position to protect your privacy compared to Facebook and Google, who offer similar signin services. As Hudnall explained, “Apple’s profit model does not rely on reselling user information, so protecting it is much easier for them to say and do as it won’t impact Apple’s bottom line.”