Apple distances itself from Google, Facebook in new transparency report

Following months of revelations that the government has likely collected information from and about you (yes, you), Apple has issued its first-ever transparency report.

Google, Yahoo, Facebook and others have circulated these for some time now, but Apple, perhaps struck by a pang of duty, is out with its own data on government information requests. The data covers the period between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013.

Apple pointedly noted that "[u]nlike many other companies dealing with requests for customer data from government agencies, Apple's main business is not about collecting information."

In an earlier part of the report, the company stated: "[O]ur business does not depend on collecting personal data. We have no interest in amassing personal information about our customers. We protect personal conversations by providing end-to-end encryption over iMessage and FaceTime. We do not store location data, Maps searches, or Siri requests in any identifiable form."

Types of data

Because of this, Apple said the "vast majority" of requests it receives are for information about lost or stolen devices. Apple logs these as device requests.

"Only a small fraction of the requests" governments send Apple's way are for personal information related to an iTunes, iCloud or Game Center accounts.

These requests typically involve the account holder's personal data and "their use of an online service in which they have an expectation of privacy." Apple categorizes orders for identifying information, email, stored photographs and other user content stored online as account requests.

Account requests most commonly involve robberies and other crime or requests involving law enforcement searching for a missing person or child, finding a kidnap victim or hoping to prevent a suicide, Apple explained.

These requests typically see Apple turning over information in someone's iTunes or iCloud account, like a name or address.

The company noted that in order to get user info, government agencies need a court order. The Apple legal team pours over these orders, and only after determining them "valid and appropriate" does it hand over "the narrowest possible set of information responsive to the request."

The requests

While the account request orders for most regions are down to the number, there's one glaring exception.

The United States has imposed a set of stipulations that limit the amount and type of information Apple can reveal about these requests. The company, for example, is required to combine national security orders with account-based law enforcement requests, and only a range in increments of 1,000 are allowed to enumerate the orders.

For account requests, the US leads the pack in all categories, though again, no specifics are allowed.

Australia sent 74 requests for 75 accounts, and data was disclosed for 41 of those. The UK issued 127 requests, and in one instance some content was disclosed.

Apple also recorded the number of requests it objected to, however it's unclear whether this means Apple was successful in fighting the request or not.

As Apple stated, device information requests far exceed account requests in most regions. Apple receive 1,178 device requests from Australia, and for 59% of those Apple provided some data. The UK issued 1,028 requests and received some info for 67% of them.

The US filed 3,542 requests with Apple to receive some information on 88% of them.

Interestingly, the numbers tend to differ between requests and devices specified in the request. The US, for example, wanted info on 8,605 devices within its 3,542 requests. Apple explained this occurs in circumstances where a shipment with hundreds of serial numbers is compromised.