Apple sends DSID with iPhone analytics data, tests show
Apple is fundamentally transforming into an advertising company. The difference between them and ad companies such as Google is that, with Apple, advertising is  baked into almost every single product.<p>Every time you open the App store, you're opening a giant garden of advertisements. These ads are extremely lucrative to Apple. Every time you update the OS, it prompts you with ads to sign up with more services. Every time you open Apple News, the same thing happens: you're bombarded with ads to sign up for a premium subscription. When I still had an Apple laptop, it would constantly give me a popup asking me to signup for iCloud, even though I hadn't consciously ever used it.<p>At nearly every turn, engaging with Apple software leads to profitable ads for Apple. (Usually in the form of direct subscriptions, or commission based advertising.)<p>What do ad companies love? User data! This is as true for Apple as it is for Google. The difference: Apple has an <i>iron grip</i> on their advertisements like no other company in the world. This gives them the tools that let them <i>pretend</i> they're not an ad company. They are.