you can also delete them recursively with

find . -name '*.DS_Store' -type f -print -delete

(adapted from this script)

Fun fact, this is from Wikipedia

I can’t speak specifically to apple’s testing process, but as someone who has worked in software QA, it’s simply not possible to catch all the bugs. Obviously no one wants bugs, so I’ve witnessed past employers try everything from adding more manpower to attempting engineering culture changes to adding public beta programs. None of these meaningfully reduced production bugs. If you or anyone else knows a better way, I’m listening :)

This. Also lawyers are expensive, and hiring a team of experienced lawyers is even more so. A bean counter probably crunched the numbers and found it would be more cost effective to settle now than to fight it out/ run the risk of losing (in which case they may also have to pay for the plantiff’s legal fees)

I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. The unfortunate reality is that any sufficiently large software project with a lot of engineers touching the code is going to have bugs. At least someone at Apple is trying to fix these as opposed to ignoring/pretending they don’t exist

Likely tacit acknowledgment that the US is becoming more authoritarian/run by a mob boss. For example, if you don’t pay the local mafia, you can expect them to show up and do bad things to you. However if you pay a bribe and kiss the ring, you may receive protection instead

“Hacking” can be as easy as running some script you found online to prowl for vulnerable systems. This doesn’t take a lot of creativity. A lot of people/businesses/governments don’t practice good security hygiene (e.g. apply security patches as soon as they’re available) and end up getting popped by skiddies. I’d be more impressed if these Russian “hackers” could consistently repel attacks, but a simple google search suggests that they are struggling to defend their own turf

If you have specific bugs/crashes that you can reproduce consistently please consider reporting them to https://www.apple.com/feedback/. This creates a bug report that an Apple developer will look at.

Mostly yes. And if it does require server-side processing, the data gets deleted after. This stance is totally different from other AI providers who make no such promises about data retention and/or using your inputs to train future models

Looks like Apple has been working on this, but for whatever reason hasn’t launched it

As an added layer of security, you can set the phone to self-destruct by going to Settings > FaceID & Passcode > Erase Data. If someone enters the incorrect passcode more than 10 times, the phone will erase itself. Assuming a 6 digit passcode, there are 1 million possible combinations. An attacker would have an effective 1 in 100,000 chance (.001%) of guessing your passcode correctly

Personally I like the way that this is implemented; makes it easy to download hidden media files onto my Mac. Anyways, if you’re worried about nudes/pr0n being seen by unauthorized parties, I wouldn’t recommend stashing them in your photos library anyways. There are vault-type apps in the App Store that masquerade as note/calculator apps (Calculator# comes to mind) which are more suited to addressing OP’s use case.

yup it was founded in Moscow and they moved their headquarters to Cyprus. They’ve been open and honest about the whole process.

It would appear that this is indeed the same ghostery that sold its users out to the highest bidder.

I recommend using AdGuard which is free and doesn’t have such serious privacy issues:

• macOS
• iOS/iPadOS

also there’s no need to pay, the free tier is more than sufficient

Wow I had no idea that this existed for such a long time. I’ve clearly been living under a rock… 😅

Seconding AdGuard. Also, there’s no need to pay, the free tier is more than sufficient. Links for convenience:

• macOS
• iOS/iPadOS

Allegedly Tim Cook does the same thing. Can’t imagine what he’d be doing 16h a day, but I’ve heard he’s almost always at Apple Park

Glad to see progress on this topic. Pretty sure microplastics will be our generation’s lead.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I treat my phone like an old school digital camera. I routinely use Image Capture to export my photos/videos to my computer and/or external HDD. I’ve got a 256GB phone, but I’m never using more than 1/5 of its storage space at any given time

Assuming you’re referring to Apple Store credit, I’ve run into this exact scenario before in a somewhat related way. Accidentally claimed a gift card I meant to send to someone else (be careful with that redeem button in the email lol, it’ll instantly apply the balance to your account with one click, so don’t fat finger it like me 🥲). Apple support wouldn’t (or couldn’t) undo that action. In other words, it’s a one way street. Once the credits enter your account, they can’t be used anywhere other than the Apple Store/icloud/App Store/etc