Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Says you Should Get off Facebook

Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Says you Should Get off Facebook

Because 'there's almost no way to stop' companies from spying on your habits


Steve Wozniak is the latest high-profile naysayer to speak out against Facebook.

The Apple co-founder, who deleted his own Facebook profile last year, told TMZ recently that he recommends most people ‘figure out a way to get off’ the site due to ongoing privacy concerns.

Wozniak warned that people often assume they have much more privacy online than they really do, and said he’s now ‘worried about everything’ when it comes to potential eavesdropping and data sharing.

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The Apple co-founder, who deleted his own Facebook profile last year, told TMZ recently that he recommends most people ‘figure out a way to get off’ the site due to ongoing privacy concerns. File photo

TMZ ran into Wozniak at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. last week and asked him if we should be worried that our devices are listening to us.

And according to Wozniak, the answer is yes.

‘I’m worried about everything,’ Wozniak said. ‘I don’t think you can stop it, though.

‘Who knows if my cell phone is listening right now? Alexa has already been in the news a lot.’

The prevalence of connected devices today means your conversations might not be as private as you think they are, Wozniak said.

‘There’s almost no way to stop it,’ he added. ‘People think they have a level of privacy that they don’t.

'Why don’t they give me a choice? Let me pay a certain amount and you’ll keep my data more secure and private than everyone else handing it to advertisers.’

While you may not be able to stop it entirely, there are ways the average person can clamp down on their personal data - including getting rid of Facebook.

When asked if Facebook and Instagram users should delete their accounts, Wozniak said most would be smart to do so.

‘There are many different kinds of people, and for some the benefits of Facebook are worth the loss of privacy,’ Wozniak said.





‘But, to many like myself, my recommendation is, to most people, you should figure out a way to get off Facebook.’

Despite his own role in bringing technology to consumers’ hands, Wozniak has increasingly spoken out about the risks and limitations of today’s systems.

In the past, he’s also flip-flopped on the topic of autonomous cars. As of last fall, Wozniak said he’s ‘lost faith’ in the abilities of self-driving technology.

HOW DOES FACEBOOK PLAN TO IMPROVE PRIVACY?
In a March 6 blog post, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to rebuild based on six 'privacy-focused' principles:

Private interactions
Encryption
Reducing permanence
Safety
Interoperability
Secure data storage
Zuckerberg promised end-to-end encryption for all of its messaging services, which will be combined in a way that allows users to communicate across WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, and Facebook Messenger.

This he refers to as 'interoperability.'

He also said moving forward, the firm won’t hold onto messages or stories for ‘longer than necessary’ or ‘longer than people want them.’

This could mean, for example, that users set messages to auto-delete after a month or even a few minutes.

'Interoperability' will ensure messages remain encrypted even when jumping from one messaging service, such as WhatsApp, to another, like Instagram, Zuckerberg says.

Facebook also hopes to improve users' trust in how it stores their data.

Zuckerberg promised the site 'won't store sensitive data in countries with weak records on human rights like privacy and freedom of expression in order to protect data from being improperly accessed.'



Read more:
Steve Wozniak Warns People to Get Off Facebook Over Privacy Concerns - YouTube