Here’s How to Download All of the Data Apple’s Collected About You
Credit: guteksk7 / ShutterstockToggle Dark Mode
Apple on Wednesday expanded its full-fledged Data and Privacy portal to users in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The revamped portal lets users easily see all of the data that Apple has collected on them (which isn’t much compared to other technology firms). But it does include information like calendars, reminders, photos, iCloud documents, purchase history, AppleCare support history, and Game Center activity.
It was first launched in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland in May so that Apple could comply with the then-recently enacted GDPR regulations.
While other technology firms seemed hesitant to extend GDPR-compliant platforms to other countries, Apple said it would launch its revamped privacy portal in other regions this year.
Today, it’s made good on that promise — at least for the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
If you live in the aforementioned regions, you should now be able to use the process below to get a copy of your data. If you don’t see the options below, then give it some time — it may need a bit more time to roll out to all customers.
How to Download Your Apple Data
Go to Apple’s privacy website (privacy.apple.com).
Enter your Apple ID and password and authenticate with 2FA if necessary.
Under the Get a copy of your data header, click or tap on Get Started.
Select the data categories you’d like to download. Alternatively, you can hit Select All.
Apple will then let you divide that data up into smaller downloads.
You may need to verify that you’re the account holder. In our testing, Apple did not require any additional verification.
Finally, Apple says you will receive a notification when your data is ready to download. (It says this process can take up to seven days total, though it’s likely to be much quicker than that.)
Once the data is ready to download, you’ll get a notification.
Apple notes that the .zip file with your information will be available to download for two weeks before expiring.
You may, of course, not notice much data. That’s largely because Apple doesn’t collect as much information as other technology juggernauts. But it’s nice to know that the data it does keep is there for you to see.
If you’re curious about what kind of data you might see, Apple has a short support document detailing the kind of information it keeps.
What If You Don’t Live in These Regions?
If the Apple portal hasn’t rolled out to your country or region yet, you can still request a copy of your data.
The method is a bit more complicated and takes some extra time, but it’s still relatively easy. You can find out how by reading our guide on the process.
