Imagine, billboards across the country advertising the most popular smartphone in the world, and all highlighting one thing: Privacy. Well, imagination might have been the right place for such ads if not for Apple.
In a tech world that demands numbers, seeks specs, and thrives on features, it is very rare to see a brand highlight something which cannot really be quantified. The chase for the biggest numbers, the most powerful specs is so cutthroat that most brands often end up only talking about and advertising numbers and specs. All said and done, the approach can be effective too. Massive numbers do make good headlines. But the problem with big numbers is that there is always a bigger number waiting to rain on your attention parade and that is what happens in the tech world on a daily basis. Big numbers get trumped by bigger numbers and then are forgotten.
Consumer privacy: The road taken by Apple
But while the world may be hunting headline-makers, there is a brand that is ‘thinking different’. Apple is no stranger to the road less travelled. In fact, it is actually one of the few brands that is known to pave not a passageway on a dirt road but build a full-fledged highway for even others to follow. So it does not come as a surprise that Apple does not really focus on highlighting numbers or specs as much as other brands do. Even while releasing new iPhones, the brand mostly focuses all its attention on what the device is capable of doing instead of hyping it up based on the numbers it brings along.
When it comes to advertising, much like most other smartphone brands, Apple has also put up a number of billboards across the country to advertise its latest offering of iPhones. But instead of focusing on a mainstream feature, specs, or numbers like megapixels, processor power, RAM or even fast charging (which is the new USP star), it decided to take the road least travelled and highlighted something which other brands seldom, if ever, talk about — consumer privacy.
Time and again Apple has proved that it is serious about the privacy of its customers. In fact, it might actually be one of the few brands that is doing some substantial work in a world which seems adamant on misusing consumer data.
It is no secret that in the virtual world, data is pretty much the key to unlocking major monetary locks for businesses. Time and again we have seen companies misuse consumer data for their own benefit. This is one front where Apple brings impressive privacy policies and features. The brand gives the user the control of whether they wish to share their data with apps and websites or not, instead of simply letting apps literally steal data. While the rest of the smartphone manufacturers focus on features like cameras, displays, processors and fast charging, with the iPhone, Apple is not only highlighting what its devices are capable of but is also highlighting that it can do all that, while respecting the privacy of its users.
Consumer privacy: The road least travelled by brands
When you actually think about it, it seems a little surprising that even in today’s day and age where our virtual presences and data hold just as much importance as our physical ones, if not more, most tech brands still do not seem to take privacy seriously. A smartphone holds data such as social media logins, to document scans, bank information, location history, and more. It almost seems like a crime that brands do not really come forward and take responsibility for gatekeeping this data from corporate peepers.
The fact that most smartphone brands are not even running in the privacy race, makes Apple’s take on privacy stand out from the crowd even more so. This is why it does not come as a surprise that Apple uses its privacy policy to differentiate itself from the competition, hence the billboards on privacy. Brands may be able to compete and even beat Apple in terms of camera numbers, processor power, display size, or charging speed but this is literally one area where the competition does not have a foot to stand on.
This gives Apple a sustainable edge over the rest of the smartphone industry because it really is the one brand that is focusing on how to make the virtual world more secure for its users. Apple is basically changing the narrative of how important privacy is and will be in the coming years, especially considering that the metaverse world is on the doorsteps of our virtual lives.
Even as Apple is working on making smartphone-ing a more secure experience, it seems like the rest of the tech world is yet to follow in its footsteps. Most smartphone brands have loosely tied privacy settings (if any), which not only make it easy for unscrupulous elements to hack into your smartphones but also make it pretty much a cakewalk for apps and corporations to access and misuse user data. Ranging from targeted ads to using data to profile users and track their activity even offline, users’ data gets misused in a number of different ways.
Time for other brands to ‘Think Different’ in terms of security?
All of this makes it even more important to have universal privacy policies put in place by law, or for brands to step up and take responsibility for the data of the users who invest their hard-earned money in their products and trust these products with sensitive information. We are yet to see brands take privacy as seriously as they take numbers and specs. This is the very reason why Apple is putting privacy on hoardings because the brand understands the potential the security feature has and how it helps the brand stand out from the usual smartphone crowd.
Numbers might make for impressive reading, but at the end of the day, nothing beats good old security. Imagine living in a luxurious mansion but everyone around you has the right to just walk in and take whatever they wish from it. Does not feel safe, does it?